Unintended
by knicnort3
Summary: Edward didn't care about anything or anyone, but a cruel scam on the pastor's daughter sends his world upside down.A meaningless night to him results in a teen pregnancy followed by a marriage that neither of them wants. *AH* EPOV* Sum Inside
1. Plans

**Unintended **

"_You could be my unintended  
>Choice to live my life extended<br>You could be the one I'll always love  
>You could be the one who listens to my deepest inquisitions<br>You could be the one I'll always love"  
>~Muse<em>

Description: Edward didn't care about anything or anyone, but a cruel scam on the pastor's daughter sends his world upside down. After lying to gain her affection, a meaningless night to him results in a teen pregnancy followed by a marriage that neither of them wants. Can Bella find a way into her new husband's heart; or is Edward really doomed to ruin both of their lives?

AH, B/E, OOC. Story begins in high school but will extend to adulthood

Rated M for adult themes like cursing, drug use, sex, and violence.

A/N: I haven't done a story set in school for a while, but if you've read 'Moon Scars', then this will be similar to the first half of that (a new spin on the same storyline). Some themes pulled from the movies "Cruel Intentions", "A walk to Remember", and "Remember Me", but _I swear_, no one will die in this. I'm not planning any major twists like the rest of my stories, but we'll see.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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><p>~Chapter 1 – <em>Plans<em> ~  
>EPOV<p>

"Edward, get back here son!" Carlisle yelled.

So I did the only logical thing I could think of, I turned back towards him and said "Fuck you," and then continued on my way. Who the fuck did that prick think he was anyway? He certainly wasn't my father, so there was no way in hell I'd sit there and listen to him.

I jumped into my Volvo hand-me-down car, and took off towards town. Carlisle always threatened to take away my phone and keys, but he never did. The man was a pathetic tool, and I couldn't wait to turn eighteen in order to get away from him and his _precious_ family, once and for all.

I pulled up to my buddy's house, and honked the horn to let him know I was there. When he didn't come out after ten seconds, I honked again, except this time, I held the button down for one long drawn out annoyingly loud hoot.

"Geeze! What the fuck, man?" James yelled bitterly as he came out of his house.

"Should've come out with the first honk," I said carelessly.

"You're a real fucking prick, you know that. My little sister is sleeping and you woke her up. My ma's gonna chew my ass when I get home," James said bitterly as he got in the car.

"I'm fucking crying inside," I said mockingly.

"Douche," James said quietly, but I decided to let that one slide and ignore him. I didn't really feel like pulling over and kicking the shit out of him in that moment. "Where are we going?" he asked after a minute.

"To pick up Laurence before heading over to Vicky's house," I told him, though I was a little irritated that I was actually explaining myself to him. Who the fuck did he think he was anyway?

"Dude, just don't fuck around with Vicky, Ok," he mumbled.

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" I asked in angry disbelief.

"Nothing…" he said quickly. "But, I really like her, and you could have any chick, so maybe you could just leave her alone this time," he said nervously.

"You're a fucking idiot. That chick doesn't give a shit about anyone, and likes nothing better than giving head to any guy with a dick. I bet she has every kind of disease out there, and I wouldn't go near her even with ten fucking condoms on…. But if you want her, be my fucking guest," I told him.

"Why the hell do we always go to her house if she disgusts you so much?" James asked me.

"Because her older brother grows pot, and she gets her hands on any type of alcohol we want. Fucking idiot, you do too much crack man, it's messing with your fucking memory," I told him annoyed.

"Drugs are a perk, but you don't like to hang with her at all?" he questioned.

"Nope," I said simply. The truth was that I was probably exaggerating Vicky's skanky ways, but there was something about the way James was getting all gooey eyed over the broad that rubbed me the wrong way. People in love were fools, especially teenagers. That kind of shit does nothing but screw up lives, and despite the fact that James was a moron, he was still my best friend and I wouldn't allow him to be screwed over.

After picking up my other pathetic lackey Laurence, we headed over to Vicky's place to get stoned, just as we did every Saturday.

When I finally decided to go home that night, Carlisle was waiting for me on the front porch. He didn't say a word, he just outstretched his hand towards me, and waited.

"What the fuck do you want me to do, give you a high five?" I asked rudely.

"Keys. Now," he said in a clipped tone.

I rolled my eyes and placed the keys in his hand. Carlisle was a pushover and it was only a matter of time before he gave them back. Without another word, I went upstairs and locked myself in my room to sleep off my high.

The next morning, I was absolutely pissed when someone began banging on my door at seven am. My fucking head was throbbing, and I just wanted to sleep the rest of the day, but the obnoxious pounding was relentless.

"What?" I yelled finally.

"Get up, we're going to church!" Esme's voice sounded from the hallway.

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked angrily.

"You're going too!" she shouted.

"Like hell I am," I replied and then replaced the pillow back over my head.

Five minutes past, when I heard a set of angry feet stomping closer to my bedroom, followed by more pounding.

"Edward Anthony Masen, unlock this door right now!" Carlisle yelled.

"Ooo, you used my entire name and I'm really intimidated," I said sarcastically. "Yeah right, grow some fucking balls man," I told him with as much attitude as I could at that moment.

"That's it," I heard Carlisle say to himself before leaving my door side.

That was pretty much the way most of our confrontations went. He yells, I yell, he walks away, and I go back to whatever I was doing before. So when I heard him return ten minutes later, I was more than a little surprised. He didn't knock, but I could hear him there and I had no idea what he was doing. The next thing I knew, the door was ripped off its hinges, and Carlisle stood there glaring at me with a screwdriver in his hand.

"What the fuck?" I said in shock.

"For now on, you have to earn the privilege of having a door," Carlisle said calmly.

"You can't do that!" I shouted, but he wasn't fazed.

"I just did. No car, no door, and no…" he walked over to my bed and grabbed my cell off the comforter. "phone," he finished.

"That's bullshit!" I said irately.

"No, what's bullshit is the fact that you decided to leave yesterday when you knew you were grounded. I'm tired of this Edward, and I'm not going to put up with it anymore." He started walking back towards the door-less door, but the fury was boiling up so ferociously inside me that I couldn't let him go without a fight.

"You're a fucking prick. If you hate me so much, then send me back to social services and leave me the hell alone!"

"I don't hate you Edward, that's not what this is about, and you know it. I'm trying to help you here, I'm trying to save you from yourself," Carlisle said strongly.

"Yeah, well who the hell asked you to?" I said bitterly and then got up and stormed into the bathroom.

"Edward, get ready, because you are coming with us to church," Carlisle said from outside the bathroom.

I threw open the door to yell in his face. "When the fuck did you decide to start going to church? Last time I checked, Esme forces her cultish beliefs on the kids but you refused to participate."

"Well, I'm usually at the hospital, but I think it may benefit everyone if we all went as a family," Carlisle responded.

"Good, have fun with that. I'm sure you and _your _family will have a swell time," I said sneeringly, and then shut the bathroom door again.

"Edward, you will go, otherwise I'm going to sell that car you love so much," he said evenly, and then I heard him walk away.

My first thought was to tell Carlisle to _go fuck himself_ again, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that life without a car was fucking miserable, so on the off chance that he wasn't bluffing on the car selling thing, I decided to humor him and go. It wasn't like church was a particularly difficult thing; basically all I had to do was sit there… I decided to bring my iPod to make it a little less intolerable.

I dressed in my 'Sunday best' as Esme called it, and met the others downstairs. They all looked at me surprised, but no one said a word and continued outside as if it wasn't a big deal.

When we got to church, the Cullens all went and sat as close to the front as possible, but I took my seat in the back and immediately started listening to my music. Without warning, Carlisle, who I didn't even realize was sitting next to me, pulled on my headphones and took my iPod right out of my hands.

"What the fuck?" I asked angrily, much to the horror of those around us in hearing range.

"Language," Carlisle scolded me. "Remember where we are. I didn't ask you to come here so you can drown everything out with offensive music."

"Ok fine, why did you ask me to come then?" I asked resentfully.

"God knows therapy hasn't helped you, so maybe a little religion will," Carlisle said with a sigh.

"Whatever," I muttered before crossing my arms in front of me, and leaning back with my eyes closed. He could make me listen to the damn spewing of the place, but there was no way he could make me watch.

I sat there for the entire hour wishing I had a hit of something to help me get through the nonsense, or maybe a gun to end my fucking misery once and for all. I really hoped the Cullens didn't plan on forcing me to go to that hellhole on a regular basis, because I really wasn't sure if my car was worth it.

When it was finally over, I made my way to the exit, but then I was somehow cornered by the cult leader himself, Pastor Swan, or Pastor Potbelly as sane people called him.

"Ah, Edward, it's good to see you here today. I was hoping I'd get the chance to talk to you," he said with a smile that I was sure was meant to be friendly.

"I don't do the 'talking' thing to often," I said snidely.

"I can respect that, but I'd still like to speak to you all the same," he insisted.

I looked over at the Cullens and locked eyes with Carlisle, and understood right away that we wouldn't be returning home until I talked with the pastor. I rolled my eyes and resolved to just get it over with so I could get my car back. I needed to drive over to Vicky's to get stoned again as quickly as possible.

"So Mr. Masen, can you tell me how you've been? I haven't seen you since you were first brought to live with the Cullens," Pastor Swan said after we took a seat in his office.

"Yeah, well I've been busy," I said annoyed by the entire thing.

"I understand you've been giving the Cullens a lot of trouble lately," he stated.

"What's it to you?" I asked.

"I just want to help." He pulled out his bible and opened it like he was going to read me a passage, but I quickly stopped him.

"Look, I really don't give a shit what any of that says, so you're wasting your time."

He sighed, and then closed his bible before putting it off to the side. "I understand why you have given up on faith after what happened to you, but God hasn't given up on you."

"Really?" I asked with an incredulous laugh, and then I exploded. "And where was your _god_ when my mother screamed out for him to help, huh? I don't need your god, or any of this other shit! I don't need anyone!"

"I know that you're hurting right now, we often don't see God's plan for our lives, but you can't give up on yourself. You can be better. How do you think your mother would feel if she could see you today? You're not honoring her by throwing your life away."

I had no idea why, but his comment really hit a nerve. I was angry before, but then I became all out enraged. "My mother can't see me, because she's in a giant hole in the FUCKING GROUND!"

With all the anger I carried with me on a daily basis, I hadn't hated anyone more than I did in that moment. That self-righteous bastard had no right to talk about my mother, and use her as some guilt trip to try to straighten me out. He probably never experienced loss in his life, and for him to criticize my pain, just made me want nothing more than to inflict pain on him.

After leaving his office, I seriously considered slitting the tires on his car, but after furiously getting into the back of the Cullen van to head home, I knew I had to come up with something more substantial than damage to his car; besides, I really didn't want to risk getting arrested again.

But then something caught my attention as we pulled out of the church parking lot. I just so happened to look out the van rear window, and saw Pastor Swan lovingly drape his arm around prissy virginal daughter's shoulder as they walked to their car, and that's when a new plan struck me.

"Carlisle, I went to church and even talked with the Pastor, so can I get my stuff back?" I asked as nicely as I was capable of.

"Well, I appreciate your cooperation, but I need you to do a little more before getting all your things back….but, since this was a big step for you, you can have _one_ thing back. So pick, keys, phone, or door."

That was actually a really tough fucking choice, but I knew which one I needed most. "Ok, my phone then," I said.

"Really?" Carlisle said surprised. From his standpoint I would have been surprised too, but I definitely had a good reason for my choice.

"Yep, if that's ok," I said without a trace of attitude. At that moment, nothing was more important than the plan I was devising, and my phone was the most essential out of the three. My friends had cars and could drive me where I needed, and the door thing was just a nuisance, not really a necessity.

"Sure," Carlisle said with a smile. That moron actually thought he got through to me with one fucking trip to church? Pathetic.

Carlisle handed my phone to Emmett, who was sitting behind him, and then Emmett handed it to me since I was sitting in the third row back.

"Thanks," I mumbled and then turned it on right away so I could text James.

**Wake up bitch** – **E **

After a minute, he texted back. **What? Jez its before noon prick. Y U bothering me? - J**

**Get your ass up and take your loser mother's car to pick me up – E**

**Fuck you** – he responded, but after a minute, he came back with –**What 4?- J**

**Operation ruin Bella Swan – E**

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><p><strong>**What did you think so far? Please let me know with a review.<strong>


	2. Cruel Intentions

**Unintended **

_A/N: Thanks for all the support, and I'm happy that people are interested so far. Like the rest of my stories, a banner for this one can be found on my profile/bio. It's simple, but I almost like it better than my busier ones. Less is more, right? Lol_

_I'm not sure how often I'll update, I really have a hard time with schedules, but I'll try for a few times a week (maybe more ;)_

_Thanks again,  
>~KC<em>

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><p>~Chapter 2 – <em>Cruel Intentions<em>~  
>EPOV<p>

"Ok, so let me get this straight, you want to mess with the pastor's daughter?" James asked like an idiot.

"What part of that don't you understand?" I said annoyed.

James stared at me dumbfounded for a minute, and I was just about to punch him in the jaw to wake him up from his stupor, when he finally shook his head and responded. "Man, we've done a lot of fucked up shit, but that's just wrong," he said cautiously, and then braced himself as if he knew I was going to swat at him. But my hand didn't even twitch; surprisingly, smacking the shit out of him wasn't even interesting to me at the moment.

"Aww, who would have thought that James had a fucking conscience," I said mockingly.

"Fuck you man, it aint even about that. I was raised Baptist, and messing with a man of god's family is some serious shit. I don't want to burn in hell for eternity just to satisfy some sadistic revenge thing you got planned," James said defensively.

"Oh please, we both know you're already damned. After all the shit you've pulled, there aint a god in any religion that would take your sorry ass. Besides, we're not going to kill or rape the chick, we're just going to ruin her fucking perfect reputation," I told him. The guy had seriously become a pussy over the past summer, and I really didn't care why, I just needed him to toughen the fuck back up.

James was quiet for another minute, and I almost thought he was going to be a little bitch and chicken out, but then he sighed and nodded.

We waited until Laurence arrived before really going over everything; I'd need both of them to help me on my mission if it had any real chance of succeeding. When he got to where we were at our usual meeting spot on the docks, we filled him in, and he was automatically onboard.

"What do we do first?" Laurence asked excitedly.

"Phase one of _Operation Ruin Bella Swan_, is observe and report. We are going to start by watching her for awhile, to learn her daily routine. I need know all her interests and hobbies, along with the places she frequents. If I'm going to get her to trust me, I'll need to learn a bit about her so we have something to talk about," I explained.

"And then what? I mean, how are you going to 'ruin her reputation', and what does any of this have to do with her dad?" James questioned reluctantly.

"It has everything to do with her dad!" I shouted. "Her dad loves nothing more than god and his daughter, and since I can't really do anything about the god thing, then his daughter is my only choice. Just think about it for a minute. If his daughter turned out to be a screw up, no one in their right mind would want to listen to his sermons and he'd be fired. If he can't teach his own kid to be good and righteous, people wouldn't trust him anymore. It's fucking perfect," I told him.

"You still didn't tell us the plan. What are we going to do to ruin her reputation?" Laurence asked eagerly. That was the difference between James and Laurence, James questioned everything and let his stupid fucking brain get the better of him, whereas Laurence would do anything and never worry about the consequences.

"Corruption," I stated.

James and Laurence looked at each other, and then they both broke down and started laughing hysterically; which really fucking pissed me off, especially because I didn't understand what they were laughing at. "What's so funny?" I asked angrily.

"Look, I think everyone can agree that most of the crap we get into is your fault. You definitely have a way to make Laurence and me do shit that we wouldn't do otherwise, but there is no way in hell you're going to convince Bella Swan to do anything immoral. She's like the epitome of a goody goody, and I doubt the chick has ever broken a single rule in her life. Man, you're seriously fucking delusional this time," James said with a laugh, which almost seemed to be laced with relief. The guy was a fucking idiot.

I glared at him, and like the pansy he was, he cowered back completely intimidated. "You're such a pussy; do you really think I'm going to pound on you?"

"No, I'm not afraid of a little bitch like you," he said defensively, but I could definitely see the fear in his eyes. I should have challenged him and scared the shit out of him until he pissed himself, but we both knew the truth, and I still wasn't in the fighting mood.

"Whatever. Look, you don't have to worry about my corruption abilities. I know exactly how to get Miss Priss wrapped around my little fucking finger. It may take some time, but I guarantee it'll happen," I said confidently.

"Would you bet on it?" Laurence asked unexpectedly.

"Name your terms," I replied without hesitation.

"Ok, but it can't be just on open ended corruption, the bet has to center on something specific," Laurence challenged.

"I'm waiting," I said annoyed.

"Fine…." he paused to think, and then began to pace around until an idea came to him. "You get virginal Bella…to _fuck_ you, and you win."

"Whoa, I never said I was going to fuck that chick, I was thinking more like convincing her get high, and then sending her to a public place to make a spectacle of herself. Maybe even tag up the side of the church or something, and get some strikes on her juvenal record," I said in a rush.

"Right, well those things aren't really that bad. She could straighten herself up after doing that shit, but if you really want to _ruin_ her, then getting her to lose her virginity before marriage would definitely be a slap in her preacher dad's face. Doesn't she even wear one of those purity ring things?" Laurence asked.

"I don't know," I said disturbed by the thought.

"Hey, if you don't think you can do it?" Laurence said tauntingly.

"I can definitely do it…I just don't want to," I told them arrogantly.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when Edward Masen would back out of a challenge," Laurence continued.

"Shut the fuck up, I can do it and I will. What's at stake?" I asked determinedly.

"Hum," Laurence pondered. "I got it, your car."

"What? No way in hell," I said appalled.

"Hey, if you were really that confident, you wouldn't even think twice about betting your car," Laurence goaded.

"I am confident…fine, if I don't take Bella's virginity, then you get my car," I said through gritted teeth. "What do I get if I _do_ fuck her?"

"What do you want?" Laurence asked.

"Your motorcycle," I said quickly. I always wanted a motorcycle, but Carlisle said they were 'death on wheels' and refused to let me buy one. Laurence had a particularly sick bike, complete with engine upgrades and a killer paintjob; it was definitely worth having to fuck the Swan prude for.

"You're on," Laurence agreed with a smirk. "But there needs to be a time limit…two months."

"Two months? You're fucking nuts. It'll take me that long just to get that bitch to talk to me," I told him sourly.

"What, are you doubting your skills as a player?" Laurence asked with a snicker.

"Hold up," James butted in. "One, I'd just like to repeat how wrong this is, and two, how the hell will we ever know if he fucked her or not?"

"Eddie has a cell phone. He'll just have to fuck her brains out and then snap a picture when she's sleeping. In fact, this is perfect; you wanna ruin the bitch, _three_ months from now is the big spring dance thingy, and we can display the picture over the projector on stage for everyone to see. If you haven't popped her cherry before that, then you lose. Damn, I can see the caption now, 'Popping Preacher's Princess'. It'll be pure gold," Laurence said enthusiastically.

"That's seriously fucked up," James said, mostly to himself.

I had to admit, it definitely was fucked up, but if anyone deserved it, it was surely that bitch.

"Just so we're clear, you are going to ruin this girl because her dad made some remark about your mom…and it wasn't even a rude or mean comment?" James asked me incredulously.

"Don't be such a fucking pussy," Laurence said to James.

"I hope you don't cry too much when I collect the key to your wheels," I said smugly to Laurence, completely ignoring James's attack of conscious.

"Them some big words, but ladies, we are on!" Laurence said triumphantly with a clap, followed by a hi five to me. It wasn't exactly a hand shake, but it was as close as we were going to get.

"We're all going to hell," James said under his breath.

"Then it'll be one _hot _party," I told James with a slap on his back.

I wasn't thrilled about the bet because it wasn't what I had in mind, but the end result would be the same; humiliation and a ruined reputation for the Swans, with the added bonus of getting a kickass motorcycle. I couldn't fucking wait.

"Hey, you're still going to help me, right?" I asked realizing that Laurence would probably do whatever possible to make me lose the bet.

"Now, that wouldn't be fair. You're on your own bro, but good luck," Laurence said, before walking back to his motorcycle to leave.

"Shit," I said angrily, and then turned to James knowing I could still pressure him into doing what I wanted him to do. "I need help spying on her to get all the information I need. I'll watch her during school, but you need to follow her after," I instructed.

"I really don't think I should help you," he said quietly.

"Fuck, James! You know I don't have my fucking car right now, and the Cullens have gone all psycho with the grounding shit. How the hell am I supposed to figure out what she does in her free time, if no one follows her?" I said bitterly.

"Why don't you try to actually talk to her, and ask her what she likes to do? That's how normal people become friends," James said with attitude.

"Fuck that. I need to just 'coincidentally' like the same shit as her, that way she thinks we're like meant to be, and all that crap."

"Aw man, you're not going to tell her that you _love _her just to get in her pants, are you?"

"James my friend, I will do whatever it takes to get what I'm after. I planned just to corrupt her and get her to do drugs, but I think Laurence is right, this is a far better plan. Since it's now about sex and I'm dealing with a prude, I'm going to have to get all emotional with it. It's going to fucking suck, but it'll be so worth it in the long run. Besides the L word is just that, a word. It doesn't mean shit."

"I really don't want to be a part of that," he said again.

"Oh James," I said while draping my arm over his shoulder to lead him back to his car. "When will you learn that what you want, doesn't fucking matter. You _will_ follow her, and you'll tell me every fucking thing she does in her free time…or else."

"Or else, what?" he asked nervously.

"Or else, I'll fucking drop you and you'll be at the bottom of the pecking order at that fucking school. Don't mess with me, and just do as you're told," I threatened mincingly.

James didn't respond, he just got in the car and drove me home. Even though Laurence had given me a hard time with the whole bet thing, both he and James pretty much did whatever I told them. I fucking owned them and their reputations, and they knew it, so neither would do anything to cross me because it would only end up hurting them in the long run.

The next day, I did something extremely rare; I got up, dressed respectably, and was actually ready for school on time.

"Well, this is a welcomed surprise," Esme said as I came down the stairs.

"Yeah, I realized that I'll be a senior next year, and if I don't get my act together soon, I may end up not graduating," I said like a pathetic loser.

"Well that's great, I'm really proud of you Edward," she said with a warm smile. I didn't understand it, but for a brief moment I actually felt a little queasy, but then I quickly dismissed the foul feeling as morning indigestion, and continued with my charade.

"I need a ride to school with Alice, but if you don't mind, I'll just have one of my friends bring me home," I said as nicely as I was capable of.

"I think that's fair," Esme said with a nod.

When Esme went to retrieve her keys, I was bombarded with skeptic glares from my 'siblings'.

"What the hell are you pulling?" Emmett asked accusatorily as he was eating his breakfast. The fucking guy was always eating.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing," I lied carelessly.

"This better not have anything to do with Jasper again," Alice warned me. "He kicked the shit out of you last time, and he'll do it again."

"Really Alice? Look, there aren't many people who can beat the shit out of me, so when I find one, I do my best to steer clear. I have no plans of battling your precious boyfriend again, so don't worry," I told her. It wasn't often that I'd admit when someone was tougher than me, but Jasper definitely was. His dad was a colonel or something, so he knew how to take someone down quickly….but, I could still probably take him if I really wanted to. Admitting weaknesses was just part of the ploy. "Besides, isn't he in Seattle?"

"That doesn't mean you can't plot against him," she said irritated.

"Look, I have no beef with the guy. In fact, I kind of actually like him," I replied.

I had spent the entire night before, contemplating my course of action, and I figured that it would be best if I tried to play nice to everyone. Smarting off to the Cullens would only get me in trouble again, and I needed to have the freedom to pursue the prude as soon as possible. The less time I spent grounded or in detention, the more time I had to win the bet.

"Look, it's obvious that you're planning something because you're never this nice. Whatever it is, it just better not end up hurting my mom and Carlisle," Emmett warned me. He was home on an extended college weekend, which always gave me a headache. Whenever Emmett was around, I always had a much harder time getting away with shit. His college wasn't far and he lived on campus, but he was home a lot, so I had a lot of fucking headaches.

"Emmett, I just want to graduate next year on time, get my inheritance, and try to live a productive life. I don't want to end up like my old man. Can't you just be happy that I'm trying to be better?" I asked in my best attempt to convey innocence…but they weren't buying it.

"Whatever, you heard what I said. You mess with my parents, and I'll mess with you," Emmett threatened. I had never actually gotten into a physical fight with Emmett before, and I really didn't want to either. The guy was huge, and even though I was sure I could still win, it definitely would be a painful rumble.

"Ok, are we all ready?" Esme asked cheerfully as she came back out with her keys.

The worst part of getting a ride to school with them, was the fact that Alice had a car of her own and could drive, but since Esme was the school nurse, they chose to ride together. They claimed it had something to do with saving the environment, or some shit like that, however I just saw it as some ridiculous excuse to spend as much time together as possible. Esme was a nice enough woman, but she didn't know how to cut the fucking cord when it came to her kids. She did the same shit with Emmett when he went to high school there as well.

"Thanks for the ride," I said with a phony smile when we got to school.

"Well, you're very welcome," Esme said sweetly, and then we all parted ways.

I had no idea what Bella Swan's schedule was, all I knew was that she hung out with the book club geeks, so I figured I'd start by looking in the library. But of course, that would have been too easy. So after not finding her at the library, I started wandering around campus in the hopes of spotting her walking past.

I was actually feeling a strange buzzing sensation all over my body while looking for her. I was like a predator hunting out its prey; it was exciting and the challenge was definitely something to look forward to. I felt like I had been living stagnantly since my family came violently crashing down around me, so at least trying to bed the Swan prude was something different.

But when the bell for first period rang, and I had yet to find her, I started to get a little uneasy.

_Chill Masen, you have three months_ - I thought to myself. Even if I didn't care about getting revenge on the pastor, losing my car was _not_ an option, so I needed to win the bet at any cost. There were no 'ifs' about it.

I knew I had Bella in my bio class, but that wasn't until fifth period; but luckily, I did see her at lunch. I followed her into the cafeteria, and subtly watched as she picked through the salad bar…romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, two tomatoes, and three slices of cucumber, all drenched in ranch dressing. I was actually surprised by her simple salad and choice dressing; I would have thought she would pile on more healthy crap, topped with some diet dressing. Then she grabbed a red apple and a soda, before paying and taking a seat at her normal table with her loser friends.

I went to sit adjacent to her, far enough so she wouldn't notice me, but close enough that I could still watch her unobstructed.

Oddly, she pushed around the tomatoes and cucumber with her fork, taking bites of lettuce all around but completely bypassing the seemingly perfect salad fruit. The apple she shoved into her backpack, probably to give to a teacher like the brownnoser she was. And the soda she took two sips of before pushing it to the side and ignoring it.

Peculiar.

That wasn't her only strange behavior at lunch. She'd smile and answer questions when her friends asked, but other than that, she didn't say much and yet, they all seemed to gravitate towards her. It was like those fools craved her attention like a bunch of eager dogs, and when she didn't give it, they practically fell all over themselves to interest her.

Bizarre.

Suddenly, for no reason obvious to me, she turned her head and looked right at me. I meant to turn away, but I found myself completely frozen in her stare, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to break free. Thankfully, one of her lap dogs tapped her arm to call her attention back to them, and I used that opportunity to escape.

I had no idea what the hell happened, but it freaked the shit out of me, and I needed a moment to breathe and clear my fucking head.

I did my best to shake off the uncomfortable feeling, but I was relieved when she didn't attempt to look at me again during bio that day, because there was no way in hell I wanted to get caught staring at her uncontrollably again. The last thing I needed was for her to get suspicious of me, thus making my plan all the more difficult.

"Well, you had her in your English class, did you figure out anything about her?" I asked James when I met him in the parking lot after school ended.

"Uh…she likes poetry," James responded. "But other than that, I mean, she never really says much. She got the best grade in the entire class on the book reports we had to do."

"Shocker," I said sarcastically. "I need some information that I don't already know, duface. I want dirt."

"Dude, this chick has no _dirt_, that's the problem," James said quickly.

"There's gotta be something," I said frustrated. "Ok, take me home and then follow her for the rest of the day," I instructed him.

"Man, my ma wants me home for dinner," he told me.

"I don't give a shit what your mom wants. What, are you a momma's boy now too?" I belittled him.

"No! Fine, I'll follow her this afternoon, but I have to be home for dinner."

"Good, when she goes home for dinner herself, you can too," I said with a slap to his back.

James dropped me off, and then he sped away to go look for Bella. We already knew she had some kind of school council meeting afterschool, so he planned on waiting for her in the parking lot and follow her until she went home for the night.

So, I did my homework, actually went down for dinner and ate with the Cullens, and then even helped clear the table…which was shocking for Esme.

"Wow Edward, just…wow. Thanks," she said with a smile, and disgustingly kissed my cheek before I retreated upstairs to text James for an update.

**Well? – E**

**Nothing surprising – J**

**Details bitch – E**

**After she left school, went 2 some gathering thing at church, B4 going home – J**

**Fine. Don't be late when U pick me up 2morrow – E**

For the rest of the week, James and I watched her whenever possible. Pretty much the girl was exactly how I thought she was; a complete bore. Mondays, and Wednesdays, she had meetings of some sort after school. Tuesdays and Thursdays she tutored for retards, and on Fridays she coached a pee wee girl's basketball team, even though she didn't seem to be able to play herself whatsoever. Basically, the chick had no real life.

"So, what time do you want me to pick you up tomorrow to follow her around?" James asked me that Friday afternoon.

"Pick me up in the early afternoon, but we're not following her," I told him.

"We're not?" he asked surprised.

"No, I'm already tired of that shit. Let's take the weekend off to get stoned, and on Monday I'll begin phase two of my plan."

"Wait, don't you want to know what she does on the weekend?" James questioned.

"I already know that she does church shit on Sundays, and she probably spends her Saturdays at the fucking library. We don't need to follow her; we've already wasted a week learning what we already know…Bella Swan is a nerdish boring prude."

"Ok…what's phase two, anyway?" he asked curiously.

"Initiating contact. It's time to get the bitch to fall in love with me."

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><p><strong>***Wow, Edward is an ass, right. lol<strong>

**More will be explained about his real parents and the Cullens at a later time.**

**Do you like where this is going? Please Review!**


	3. Expectations

**Unintended**

~Chapter 3 – _Expectations_~  
>EPOV<p>

The weekend unfolded just as I predicted; drug binge on Saturday, and then I cleaned myself up and went to church with the Cullens on Sunday. Esme kept telling me how impressed she was, and Carlisle said if I kept up the good work, I'd get all my stuff back soon.

Predictable.

I hardly saw Bella during church, but that didn't really matter; people just needed to know that I was going, just in case Bella talked about me with someone over the course of my corruption period.

On Monday, I woke up bright and early, and caught a ride with the others to school…just to put myself into the brownnosing mood. It was time to begin phase two of my plan.

Once again, I found Bella in the cafeteria during lunch. She was making her same odd salad that she had the last time, and I was about to go talk to her, but then I thought better of it. I planned on becoming her lab partner during bio, so if I talked to her during lunch as well, she may get suspicious of my intentions. So, I just watched her with her friends once more, but they were as boring as ever.

"Here's a twenty, you're now partners with Eric," I told Mike Newton when we first got into bio that day. Mike was Bella's lab partner, but I needed that time with her, that way she was absolutely stuck with me and was forced to listen to my attempts to win her affections.

"No, I'd rather stay partners with Bella," Mike said, refusing the money I was offering him.

"It wasn't a request, dipshit. I was only paying you to be nice, but you're switching partners either way. So take the money, or leave it," I told him in a hushed threat.

Mike looked at me fearfully, and then nodded before taking the twenty dollar bill from me and walking to my former seat. The tardy bell hadn't rung yet, so everyone was out of their seat and chatting amongst themselves, which was good for me; I didn't want Bella to see my little exchange with Mike.

When Bella came to her seat and saw me there, she looked curiously at her former partner, and then back at me.

"This is different," she said to me.

"Mr. Molina thought we may work well together," I explained quietly.

"Why?" she asked confused.

I just shrugged and began looking over or assignment for the period.

"Look, I really can't fail this class, so if you're going to slack off…" she started to say.

"I need to pass this class too," I interrupted her. "I know I haven't always been the best student, but with graduation coming in less than a year, I figured I needed to get my act together," I lied smoothly.

She looked at me suspiciously, but then shook it off and joined me in reading over our assignment.

We continued to work together, and make small talk about the task at hand, but I didn't want to overdo it by discussing anything personal. Despite my time constrictions, going slow would definitely work best with any prude.

The next day in bio however, I decided to get a little more friendly.

"So… are you still into poetry?" I asked her tentatively. Shyness equaled innocence, which was exactly what I was going for. We had been working pretty well together for most of the period so far, so I figured it was a good time to start nudging my way into her life.

Bella laughed once. "Since when are you interested in poetry?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, I'm not….per se, but I recently got a poetry project, and I'm having a really hard time with it," I told her.

"Why don't you ask your friend James for help? I have him in my English class and he's really good," she suggested.

I laughed to myself internally, and swore to give James hell for that one.

"I can't really ask one of my friends for help. I mean, isn't poetry supposed to be all about emotions and stuff? I just couldn't do that with a guy who'd probably razz me for it," I explained softly.

She narrowed her eyes at me, but then nodded slightly. "Yeah, I guess I could see that. But hey, you're in luck; they just started a poetry club and if you really need help, I'm sure you can join and ask during one of the meetings," she said casually, completely blowing me off.

"Uh…"_ shit._ "Are you joining?" I asked her.

Again, she narrowed her eyes at me. "What's it to you?" she asked strongly, taking me aback.

"I was just hoping you would help me," I said with my most irresistible smile.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Look, I'm pretty busy right now, and even if I wasn't, I'd still say no."

"Why?" I asked baffled.

"Oh come on Edward, we both know that you don't care about a poetry project. Whatever you're pulling, I don't want to be a part of," she said impassively, and then grabbed her books and started putting them into her backpack, making me feel like a complete idiot.

I had the entire conversation planned out….

'_Hey Bella, will you help me with my poetry?' _I was going to ask flirtatiously.

'_Why of course I will,' _she'd reply in a southern accent. I knew she wasn't southern, but in my imagined scenario, she had an accent.

Then I'd recite her some ridiculously obnoxious sonnet I found on the internet, and say that she inspired me.

'_Oh Edward, that was the most beautiful thing I ever did hear,' _she'd say completely impressed, and so would begin her fall into love with me.

But none of it happened that way.

The James thing distracted me, then her calling my bluff and refusing to help me wasn't what I anticipated. I thought that since she was so religious, she'd be willing to help anyone who asked for it, but I was wrong and I needed to change course. And as stupid as it sounds, her lack of a southern accent really put a damper on the entire thing, and made me realize how poorly I had prepared for it. Bella had been born and raised in Forks; I have no idea where I got the idea to imagine her differently.

I felt flustered, and it was definitely not a feeling I was used to. So I left the classroom quickly, and seriously thought about abandoning the entire bet…._what the hell was wrong with me?_

I spent the entire afternoon and evening trying to come up with something different, and the next day at lunch, I tried a new approach.

"Edible art?" I asked her at the salad bar. She was arranging her tomatoes and cucumbers in a way that reminded me of that stupid famous fruit bowl painting.

My presence shocked her, so she accidently knocked her apple onto the ground. I tried to be cool and kick it back up to her, but when my foot came in contact with the fruit, it went flying across the cafeteria making everyone in its line of fire duck, and then shoot me a bunch of dirty looks. I glared back at them, unafraid to make eye contact the way they all were, and every single one of them backed down and turned away. Everyone in that fucking school knew better than to mess with me.

Bella smirked at me, seemingly amused by the apple kicking, and then sighed. "Ok Masen, out with it," she said while grabbing another apple and continuing down the line.

"Out with what? I just came to say hi," I said defensively.

"Right," she said sarcastically. "We've known each other for years, and you have never been the first to say hello."

"Did you ever consider the fact that maybe I'm shy?" I asked like a pathetic loser.

She laughed. "Edward Masen, shy? I don't think so."

"Oh come on, give me a break. I told you, I'm trying to turn my life around," I said getting irritated.

"Fine." She stopped walking, and turned to look me dead in the eye. "Tell me something true."

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"Everything you've said thus far has been a big fat lie, so tell me something true and maybe I'll consider helping you in whatever it is that you really want."

Fuck. How the hell did she see through my lies so easily?

"I told you, I need to pass this assignment," I reiterated.

"Well, I just don't believe you," she said before continuing on her way.

"Ok, that's not the truth," I said quickly, so she turned back towards me once more, and waited. "Well, not entirely. I need help with my poetry in order to graduate, but the real reason is the fact that if I don't graduate next year with at least a B average, I'll lose my inheritance. It was a stipulation my father put in his will, and Carlisle is going to make damn sure I stick to it," I told her in a rush.

It wasn't exactly the reason why I was bothering her, but it was in fact, the truth. Carlisle informed me of my father's requirement earlier in the year, which was part of the reason why I hated him so much. As the executor of my father's will, Carlisle could have bypassed it, but he refused, and I fucking hated him for it.

"I believe you," she said slowly. "But, that doesn't mean I'm going to help."

"Why?" I asked frustrated.

"You buried yourself, now you have to dig your own way back up. If I bailed you out, then how will you ever learn?"

Perhaps it was desperation, or just pure annoyance, but either way, I got pissed and lost control of my mouth. "You know what; you are an arrogant self righteous jerk! Haven't you ever screwed up in your entire fucking life? You think you're so much better than everyone else because you do everything right all the time, but that's not normal. You say I need to dig myself out of all my shit, well what the hell do you think I'm doing by asking you for help. Do you think coming to you was fucking easy for me? Jesus Christ, what does your fucking holy book say about helping others and forgiveness?"

I was legitimately fucking pissed at everything at that moment. My idiot father's actions, Carlisle, Bella's arrogance, the fucking bet; it all just hit me like a speeding truck to a brick wall. I was so angry that I didn't give a shit about anything at that moment, so I stormed out of the cafeteria and headed right to my newly freed car. I just got it out of the Cullen impound, and I was going to lose it again to fucking Laurence due to my outburst, which pissed me off even more.

I put my car into reverse and backed out of my parking space, and when I was about to go forward again to leave the lot, I had to slam on my breaks to avoid running someone over.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled out the window.

"I wanted to apologize," Bella said quietly.

"I almost fucking hit you…." I continued, but then I realized what she had just said. "Wait, what?"

She walked over to my window so I could hear her over the sound of the engine. "I'm sorry that I was so rude to you. You were right, I was being a jerk and I came out here to apologize….and, if you still want it, I'm here to offer whatever help I can. I don't think your reasons for trying to get better grades are very admirable, but it's really none of my business. You asked for help, and I shouldn't have questioned it."

I couldn't believe my fucking ears; did she really just play right into my hands when I wasn't even trying? It wasn't going to be anywhere close to easy, but at least I had a real fucking chance again. With renewed hope, I decided to push my luck…

"Do you want to leave with me?" I asked her hesitantly.

"I don't ditch," she said quickly.

"Yeah, didn't think so," I said out loud to myself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked insulted.

I shrugged. "I figured you'd never ditch, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway… do you really think you'll go to hell for skipping out on a couple classes?" I challenged her.

"No," she said appalled by my comment. She started walking away, but instead of heading back towards school, she walked around the car and waited for me to unlock the passenger side door.

I couldn't believe it was actually happening; I screwed up royally, and yet there she was, breaking rules and getting into my fucking car. I was way better than I ever thought.

"Where are we going?" she asked me while putting on her seatbelt.

I shrugged. "That's the great part about it, we can go anywhere and no one will even come looking for us."

"Hum," she mumbled to herself, but as I drove further away from the school, her anxiousness grew.

"Look, lunch isn't over yet, I can take you back if you want, and no one will know the difference," I said gently.

"No, I'm fine," she insisted.

I grinned and shook my head incredulously. It was only a matter of time until I had her right where I wanted her.

"What's so funny?" she asked offended.

"Nothing," I said unconvincingly.

"You know, maybe you should just take me home," she said after a minute.

"Why? Am I driving too erratically for you?" I teased.

"No, I just remembered that we're not friends, so I really have no idea why I'm in your car," she said sourly.

"Yeah, but you agreed to help me with my project," I reminded her.

"Ok, so are we going somewhere to work on it then?" she asked.

"Maybe," I said with a scheming tone.

"Yes or no, Masen. I really have no desire to be seen with you, without the excuse of working on a project together."

"Ouch! And there's that jerk again," I said, trying to give her a guilt trip.

"Whatever. I agreed to help you, not be your friend. That ship sailed a long time ago," she said bitterly.

"Maybe it shouldn't have. I used to do so much better when we were friends," I admitted truthfully.

"Well, you can't blame me for that one," she said strongly.

"No, I blame my father," I said, shocking the hell out of both of us. I rarely ever talked about my long lost family, and the fact that I mentioned my dad twice that day to her, wasn't something I planned on.

"You can't let it ruin the rest of your life, though," she said softly. She knew what happened to me; everyone in that fucking small town did, or at least a vague account of it, which always made me angry. I couldn't stand all of their sorrow filled stares, so when I screwed up enough that people stopped caring, it was definitely a relief. But there was Bella, looking at me that way again, and I had to do whatever it took to wipe that expression off her face.

"Hey, I got a joint in the glove compartment; you wanna light it for me?" I said, causing her face to distort in disgust. I knew it was a step in the wrong direction for us, but it was the only thing I could think of to get off the subject of my past.

She huffed. "Can you just take me home please?"

"What about your truck?" I asked.

"It's in the shop, my friend Angela brought me to school this morning," she said coldly with her arms crossed in front of her.

We didn't speak again until I pulled up in front of her house. As she got out of my car, I called after her. "So, I was thinking I'd pick you up tomorrow morning then. That way we can work on my project after school, and I'll bring you home afterwards."

She scowled at me, but didn't say anything and just slammed the door.

I couldn't help but laugh. She absolutely hated me at the moment, but the next morning I would begin the next phase of my plan…._gaining her affections_. She was going to be putty in my hands, I just knew it.

* * *

><p><strong>***What do you think of Bella so far? Does Edward have the right assumption of her, or have they both come to the wrong conclusions?<strong>

**Please Review**


	4. Friends

**Unintended**

A/N: A few people asked that I keep this story in EPOV, and as of right now, that's what I'm planning. Sometimes I feel like a different POV is necessary to get the whole story, but I don't foresee a need to change perspectives yet. Unless absolutely necessary, we'll stay inside Edward's troubled mind ;)

* * *

><p>~Chapter 4 – <em>Friends<em>~

I woke up bright and early, and eagerly got ready for school. I wanted to be early, just in case Bella decided to try to catch a ride with one of her loser friends instead of letting me take her, which I couldn't allow to happen. It had only been two weeks since the bet was made, but I could feel the crunch of time wearing on me; I didn't want to force myself to get sloppy by rushing everything at the last minute. I needed every second I could get with Bella Swan.

I saw that the pastor's car wasn't in the driveway, so I decided to be a little less chivalrous, and just honk the horn of my car to let Bella know I was there. I watched her bedroom window as the curtains jostled slightly, and her porcelain face appeared between the falls of the fabric.

I smiled crookedly at her, and she responded with an overwhelmingly negative scowl.

_Shit. _

She wasn't in a good mood, which would only make my job all the more difficult. Perhaps I should have knocked on the door after all, but I just figured that being all considerate right off the bat would be too obvious.

Eight minutes and twelve seconds later, Bella came sulking out of her house, and didn't even offer me a friendly hello before walking over to the passenger side, and getting in the car.

"_Why, good morning Edward_," I said in my version of the 'Bella southern accent' which I had imagined her having the day before. "_It was so good of you to drive all the way across town to pick me up this morning. Oh, and don't you look cute as a button in your tight V-neck and perfectly fitted jeans_."

I glanced over at Bella, who was smirking at me despite herself. I smiled widely at her, so she looked away and bit her lip to keep herself from smiling back. So I continued with our conversation, which I was having by myself.

"Bella, you look very spry this morning yourself," I said in my normal voice. _"Why thank you sugar; I washed my locks in strawberry silkening shampoo, and spritzed with my favorite perfume…" _I went on in my Bella southern accent.

"Ok, just stop," Bella said with faux annoyance.

"What? It wasn't like you were contributing to the conversation at all," I said defensively.

She rolled her eyes. "Good morning Edward, thank you for picking me up," she said mockingly.

"You're welcome," I said smugly.

"Just out of curiosity, during you poor excuse to sound like me, why were you using a southern accent?" she asked.

I laughed once. "I really have no idea. For whatever reason, whenever I think about you, I always imagine you with an accent," I said honestly.

"We've known each other since preschool," she said incredulously.

I shrugged sheepishly. "I don't really question my thoughts too much; if I did, I'd probably go insane."

"Maybe that's your problem. If you considered some of the things that rot your brain, maybe you wouldn't be such an ass all the time," she said casually.

"Wow, and where's _your _filter these days? The Bella I knew would never be so mean."

"I'm not trying to be mean, I just really don't understand any of this," she said while tugging on her seatbelt suggestively.

"What don't you understand? You agreed to help me with my project today after school, so I picked you up and will bring you back home after we're finished," I said slowly, wondering what part she was having trouble with.

"I don't actually recall agreeing to help you after school. _You_ said that when you dropped me off yesterday, but _I _didn't reply. I have a pretty full schedule and I can't rearrange everything for you."

"So, what's it today? School clubs, or tutoring stupid kids?" I asked referring to her busy schedule.

"Wow, you just called the kids I help 'stupid'," she said incredulously.

"Yeah, so? If they weren't stupid, then they wouldn't need help," I replied quickly.

"Ok, what does that make you then?" she asked smugly.

I totally just put my foot in my mouth, but I wasn't afraid to admit it. "I guess I'm pretty stupid as well."

"Mm-hum," she agreed heartlessly.

"Bella, please; I really need your help with this," I begged with a pathetic whine, hopping she'd take pity on me. "Besides, you owe me after your utter jerky rudeness yesterday at lunch."

She bit her lower lip again, and then looked out her window. "Fine, but you better not make me regret this."

I smiled triumphantly and finished the drive to school. "Ok, meet me here after school," I reminded Bella as we got out of the car and headed onto campus.

She didn't respond again; she just hurried to meet her friends.

I spent the entire morning thinking about Bella. I tried to remember the times we had shared together as kids, but that was long before my entire world came crashing down around me, so even thinking about happier times was difficult…..

_*I awoke in the middle of the night to the yelling….which lately happened all the time. But something about that night was different; his yelling was more desperate, and hers was more resolved. _

"_Edward, I'm scared," Bree's little voice sounded in the darkness._

"_It's ok, come here," I told her._

_I heard the little pattering of her feet as she crossed the room quickly, and then she jumped onto my bed and right into my waiting arms._

"_He's really angry this time," she whispered nervously to me._

"_Shhh, just try to sleep," I told her as she laid wrapped in my arms._

_And then, there was a bang…..*_

I gasped and sat up quickly, only to find myself in my car in the school parking lot.

"Whoa, did I wake you up?" Bella asked as she came to sit in the passenger seat next to me.

"Yeah, I guess," I said still a little dazed.

Bella giggled. "You're drooling," she said and shocked the hell out of me by wiping my chin with her bare hand.

"Sorry," I said, and wiped my face with my sleeve after her; just to be sure it was completely dry.

"Have you been sleeping in here all day?" she asked surprised.

"No… at least, I don't think I have. I was in Bio today, wasn't I?" I asked unsure.

"Are you high?" she asked unexpectedly.

I had to think about that one for a minute. "No."

"What's wrong with you, then?" she asked concerned.

"I don't know, I guess I just fell asleep and lost track of time," I said truthfully. I actually had no idea what the hell happened, but it definitely shook me up a bit. I had done everything I possibly could in order to not think about that night, so the fact that I randomly dreamed about it in my car while waiting for Bella afterschool, was definitely odd.

"So, where are we going to work on this project of yours?" she asked, but her words were laced with skepticism.

"You still don't believe me about needing your help?" I asked her, trying to sound offended.

"No, I definitely believe that you need help. With how much time you spend ditching, it would be more shocking if you weren't having trouble with your classes… but I'm still not sure if I believe your reasons behind asking _me_."

I suddenly became slightly paranoid. Bella saw through me far too easily, and it made me anxious and extremely uneasy about the entire situation.

I absolutely couldn't lose my car; I needed to concentrate – _Focus, Masen_.

"Well, poetry is supposed to be all about emotions, right? So, I was thinking about going to the beach to look for inspiration," I suggested.

"That could be a good idea," she agreed, so I took off towards the coast.

"Hey, remember when we were eight, and we were playing Joseph and Mary during the Christmas pageant?" Bella asked after we had been driving in a strangely comfortable silence for awhile.

"Uh… I don't really remember much from back then," I admitted.

"Oh…" she said quietly, understanding what I meant. But then, she laughed. "You didn't know that the toy baby they got to play Jesus made noise. When you picked the thing up and it cried, you freaked and threw it across the audience…." She began laughing even more. "Everyone jumped to catch it, as if it were a real baby or something, but you ran off the stage crying…" she was laughing so hard, that everything else she said was unintelligible.

I didn't think her story was funny, in fact, it was fucking pathetic, but her laugh was so hysterical that I found myself laughing with her like a moron.

"That's not what happened," I said defensively and tried to stop laughing, but it was pointless.

"Is too. You thought Jesus had put his voice in the doll and you were going to be punished for chewing gum in church," she went on.

"That just goes to show how fucked up religion is for kids," I said jokingly, but for a reason I didn't understand, we both stopped laughing and our light mood became heavy with awkwardness.

I pulled into a parking space at the beach, and then we climbed up onto the dunes where I laid out a blanket for us to sit on.

"Well, you definitely prepared," Bella said surprised when I also took out some snacks.

"I don't think well on an empty stomach," I told her quickly.

"Ok, so what about this project is particularly difficult for you?" she asked.

"The directions said that we had to write about something 'real to us'," I explained.

"So, why don't you show me what you have so far?" she said encouragingly.

"Don't laugh," I warned her.

"I would never," she assured me seriously.

"Ok, here it goes….." I pulled out my scribbled on paper, and actually felt a tad bit nervous. It wasn't like I wrote something heartfelt or anything, I just wasn't sure how she'd react.

"_The sky is blue,  
>the river wild.<br>I think about you…a lot.  
>And wondered what number you dialed….<em>

_I never got the phone call  
>you said you would ring,<br>But you didn't  
>have any words to bring…"<em>

I looked up at Bella when I was finished, and waited for her opinion.

Her face was a hard mask, but then it suddenly broke, and yes, she started laughing.

"You said you weren't going to laugh," I said angrily, before crumbling and throwing down the paper.

"I'm sorry," she said while trying to control herself. "Really, I didn't mean to laugh….Ok," she said while taking a deep breath and straightening out the paper I discarded. "This is really…_nice_, but I think for something like this assignment, maybe you should try to look a little deeper."

"What do you mean?" I asked legitimately confused.

"I mean, poetry isn't always just on the surface. Sometimes when you read 'the sky is blue', what the author is really saying is that there are no troubles, or everything is good and carefree. Maybe we should start by figuring out exactly what you want to talk about….something true to you."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like, how does your life feel to you…right now?"

I thought about that for a moment, and actually tried to come up with a real answer. "Stagnant."

"Like you're stuck in a moment," she said understandingly with a nod.

"Exactly," I said quietly.

We stared at each other for a minute, and a bewildering jolt passed through me…but I shrugged it off and decided to end things for the day.

"What are you doing?" she asked confused.

"I should be getting back. I'm still on thin ice with the Cullens, and I don't want to be home too late," I lied.

"Oh…ok," she said softly, and then helped me bring everything back to the car.

We drove back without a word, and the tension was thick again; though I was fairly certain that I was the only one who was stressed, even if I wasn't exactly sure why.

"So, will we be doing this again tomorrow?" she asked unsure, as I pulled up in front of her house.

"Are you available?" I asked emotionlessly.

"I can be," she said softly.

"…..No, why don't we take a break and meet back up in a couple days," I said coldly. I had no idea why I was so upset, but I couldn't shake my sour mood.

"Ok, well, just let me know," she muttered before getting out of the car.

"Hey Bella…" I called after her.

"Yeah?" she responded quickly.

"Thanks… for helping me, even when I'm being a prick."

"You're welcome," she said with a caring smile.

She continued to her house, but I called after her once more. "Bella."

"Yeah?" she turned back to me.

"Maybe…maybe we could try to find a way to be friends again," I said reluctantly. The words sounded so juvenile coming off my tongue, and made me feel like an absolute idiot.

Her hesitation made me worry that I pushed her too far, but then she sighed. "We'll see," she said before hurrying into her house so I couldn't make an even bigger fool of myself, and aske her anything else.

Nothing was going the way I wanted it to, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why I kept thinking about my family every time I was around Bella. I couldn't let her catch me off guard again, I needed to turn up my charm and get the ball rolling.

I spent the next couple days psyching myself up again. I wanted to impress Bella, so I decided to kick it up another notch.

"Can I give you a lift home today?" I asked Bella during lunch that Friday.

"Are you ready to work on the project some more?" she asked doubtfully.

"No, but since we're friends now, I figured we could hang out a bit," I told her with an innocent smirk…which probably wasn't as innocent looking as I intended it to be.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked suspiciously.

"I don't know, what do you like to do?" I asked her.

"Why, hello there," Laurence said from behind me. He draped his arm over my shoulder, and turned us so that he was between Bella and me.

I grimaced at him slyly, but he was unfazed.

"How are you Laurence?" Bella asked politely.

"Well, I'm just super," he said with an odd tone. Then he turned towards me. "So Eddie, are we still on this weekend for getting stoned?" he asked me with a sinister smile. "I'm sure Vicky has some great shit…and she may even invite that bitch Heidi that you like to fuck around with all the time."

It was obvious what he was doing; he must have realized that Bella was actually warming up to me, so he was trying to ruin the progress we made. To be honest, I would have done a whole lot worse to him if the situation was reversed, but that didn't stop me from wanting to beat the shit out of him right then and there. As angry as I was however, I couldn't focus on him; I just stared at Bella's face as she uncomfortably started looking around for a way to escape.

We were standing in a way that Bella was sort of trapped against the wall of the cafeteria, with Laurence and me blocking her exit. Her discomfort actually made me feel like shit, so I stepped aside to let her pass.

"Excuse me," she whispered.

"So, just meet me at my car, ok?" I said to her as she started walking away. She ignored my comment, which pissed me off even more.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked Laurence angrily after she was gone.

"Hey man, all's fair in love and war…and bets," he said with a grin before walking quickly out of the building. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be seeing him again for awhile. He fucking crossed me, and he knew better than anyone that I wouldn't take that lightly. My guess was that he was probably going somewhere to hide from the wrath that I'd certainly bring him. Fucking pussy.

In Bio that day, I had to try to smooth everything over with Bella.

"Sorry about Laurence at lunch," I said to her gently.

"I really don't care what you do with your time," she said offhandedly.

"No, I know," I said quickly, not wanted her to think that I was insinuating anything. "But I also know that stuff makes you uncomfortable, so I'm sorry you had to hear it."

"Well, I'm sorry you feel the need to be doing that stuff…" she said, and then she seemed to get embarrassed, so she pulled her hair over her shoulder like a curtain to hide her face.

"I've done a lot of crap to… _escape_, but I'm really trying to do better now. I guess my friends just…don't get it. I mean, I told them, but they aren't really supportive of that decision."

"Well, I guess I can see why you need new friends," she said with a bitter undertone.

"Exactly," I said suggestively.

She sighed. "Edward, we can't just be friends," she said unexpectedly.

"Why not?" I asked exasperated.

"No, the real question is, _why_. After all these years, why are you suddenly wanting to be my friend? I get that you want to turn your life around, and that's great…_if it's true_. But why me? There are hundreds of kids in this school, any of which would probably be better suited to help you along your path of morality."

"Well, besides the fact that you can help me with my project…" she opened her mouth to interrupt, but I put up my finger to stop her. "You and I used to be friends, and if anyone can overlook all my past rebelling bullshit, it's you," I told her with my crooked smile.

"So, you're not just using me?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

I stared at her, and pressed my lips together forcefully. I didn't understand it, but she seemed to have an uncanny ability to see through my lies, so I needed to word my answer carefully.

"Maybe I am using you. Maybe I need you in order to achieve my goal. I need to get better grades and graduate….but more importantly, I think being around you could make me be better. All my friends are constantly getting wasted, and with you…that's not something that even crosses my mind."

"Just the other day you asked me to 'light a joint' for you," she rebutted.

I pressed my lips again uncontrollably. "I lied. I didn't have a joint in the glove department," I admitted.

She looked at me surprised. "Why did you say that, then?"

"Look, you were starting to talk about how I needed to 'let go of my past' or some shit like that, and I couldn't deal," I said surprisingly honest.

"So, you said something that was sure to make me want to get away from you?" she said understandingly.

"Yeah…that wasn't my proudest moment," I told her. "I'm trying to stay clean, ok. I haven't used drugs in…" she was obviously expecting me to lie, because she crossed her arms and shifted her weight in an accusatory stance; so I said the only thing she would believe…the truth. "Like in almost a week," I owned up.

She huffed. "Well, it's a start."

"I'm trying," I said quietly.

"I can see that," she agreed. "Trying _what_ however, I'm not so sure of just yet."

_Fuck, how the hell did she know shit like that?_

"Well then I'll just have to prove my intentions," I told her with a grin.

"I guess so…. So, what do you want to do after school today, then?" she asked.

"What do you normally do on Fridays?" I asked her.

"Actually, I coach a girl's basketball team," she said with a thoughtful grin.

"Oh, no," I said knowing what she was thinking.

"Oh, come on; I'm horrible at basketball and I know for a fact that used to play. Please, come see if there's anything you can help with?"

"Oh man…." I said to myself. I couldn't believe I was actually about to agree to it. "But they're girls," I whined.

"So, it shouldn't be too hard for you then," she said with a winning smile - she already knew I was going to say yes.

I huffed. "Why do you coach anyway, if you don't know what you're doing?"

"Because no one else would, and the team would be disbanded without someone stepping up," she explained, still glowing from my undeclared acceptance.

"And why do you care if they're disbanded or not?"

"Haven't you ever done something for someone else, for no other reason than just to be nice?" she asked, but it wasn't in an arrogant way, she seriously seemed curious.

"No," I stated.

I expected her to frown, but instead she smiled widely. "Well, you're in for some real fun," she said genuinely.

…..

*"_Edward, what was that noise?" Bree asked me terrified._

"_I don't know…it was probably just a car backfiring outside, or something," I said unconvincingly._

"_It was so loud," she said while cowering into my chest. _

"_It's ok. Bree, look at me," I demanded. It was dark, but our eyes were adjusted and I knew she could see me well enough. "I would never let anything hurt you. You know that right?" I said to her intensely._

_She nodded, and I could feel her entire body relax as a response.*_

…

"Edward?" Bella said gently, waking me from my trance.

"Huh?" I said confused. It took me a moment to become fully aware of my surroundings.

"Class is over… Are you ok?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, fine," I assured her. "I'll see you after school?" I asked, just to double check.

She nodded, but the look of concern didn't leave her eyes.

I got up and left for my next class, but the need to find a way to numb the memories was stronger than it had been in years. I started walking towards my car, hoping I had some type of narcotics in there, but then I saw Bella again. She was walking in the opposite direction, but like that day in the cafeteria, she turned and looked at me square in the face. We locked eyes, and the desire to get stoned quickly evaporated.

The bet was the only thing that mattered in that moment, and getting high a couple hours before I'd be meeting Bella, could only be detrimental to my final goal...

* * *

><p><strong>***So, is Edward's past becoming clearer? I'm not excusing him, but I am a firm believer that most bullies and assholes have suffered traumatically, and therefore lash out to hurt others as a response. Psychology 101. Lol. <strong>

***Soniya - we're getting closer to your review request. ****Soon, I promise ;)**

*****_**Shal35**_** – Yes, this is loosely based on stories like 'A walk to Remember' and 'Cruel Intentions' (as stated in my first chapter A/N), but that's only the beginning of the story. Like all my others, this story will also take a left turn and head into a different direction. I wouldn't call it a twist, but there definitely isn't anything like it in the stories I just mentioned. Some will love it, some will hate it, but I can't please everyone. (No one will die, I promise)**

**~I'd love to hear everyone's opinion thus far…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!  
>l<br>l  
>l<br>V**


	5. Peaks and Valleys

**Unintended**

A/N: Wow, I just realized how long this chapter is. I could have separated it into two, but I really wanted to bring the story to a certain point, and it just took longer than I thought. I hope I don't get a lot of hate from this chapter, but I needed the story to pick up pace a little.

Please keep an open mind, and enjoy!

* * *

><p>~Chapter 5 –<em>Peaks and Valleys<em>~

"Ok, listen up everyone!" Bella called to her team. "This is Edward, and he's going to be helping us out today," she said with a smirk to me, then nudged me forward to encourage me to address them.

"Uh…ok. Why don't we begin by running some drills so I can see what we've got," I told them uncomfortably. It was odd having a bunch of ten year old girls watching me so intensely, but more importantly, Bella was watching me which meant that I needed to do the best I could.

I evaluated the girls as they stumbled and tripped their way through the practice drills, but the desire to laugh never came to me. Surprisingly, I just felt sorry for them. I took time with each of them individually to try to tweak their troubled areas in order to better their game, but I could tell that they needed much more help than I could offer during one practice.

"I could come again next time," I offered as Bella and I walked to the parking lot after practice finished.

"Really?" she said shocked.

"Yeah….surprisingly, that was actually a lot of fun," I said honestly.

"Wow, who'd of thought," she said pleased. "Edward Masen, actually enjoying helping others….amazing."

"Yeah, yeah, razz me all you want… but don't be thinking that I'm going to volunteer at a homeless shelter, or anything," I said lightly.

"Hey, I thought I was the one who was self righteous, but suddenly you're too good to help the needy?" she said with a bitter laugh.

"I was actually just joking," I said defensively.

"Hmm, I wonder if you'd be laughing if you were the one who was homeless," she said irritated.

"I'd never be homeless," I told her, becoming annoyed by the turn the conversation had gone. How did we go from having a good time with the girls, to arguing over a subject that neither of us had anything to do with?

"Oh really? What would have happened if the Cullens didn't take you in?" she asked unexpectedly.

"Sometimes, I wish they didn't…" I told her. "Cause maybe then, I would have stayed in the system and sent somewhere far away from here."

"You're an ass!" she said heatedly.

"Well, that's nothing new for me, is it?" I responded angrily.

"That's right, I almost forgot. You're Edward Masen, the guy who is too busy shutting off all your emotions and building stone walls around yourself to be anything other than a complete _jerk_…" she said mockingly. "Tell me Edward, are you intentionally mean to push people away, or did you just bury the real you so deeply that you've forgotten who you truly are?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I asked incredulously. "I mean seriously, how the hell did you end up getting so pissed at me. Damn, I really don't even know what I did this time."

"You never do, do you?" she asked sourly.

"Actually, yeah, I do. I usually know exactly when I'm being a prick, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what the hell happened just now."

"Well, you can't seem to figure out a lot of things, can you?" she said before turning away from me.

No thought entered my mind, and there was no time to decipher through my feelings at that moment; the next thing I knew, her wrist was in my hand and I was pulling her back to me. My lips crashed into hers, and moved with a certain desperateness that I had never experienced before. There was a strange buzzing of heat that engulfed my entire body, and took over all my senses. I was aware that our mouths were together, but it wasn't until she pulled away that I realized that we had been actually _kissing_.

We stared at each other in shock for an endless moment, and then she slapped me.

"Bella…" I began after I recovered myself, but she didn't wait for me to continue. She ran off towards a different car in the parking lot, which I assumed belonged to a parent of one of the girls she coached, and then she climbed inside.

I got into my car, and after watching the car Bella was in leave, I exploded. "FUCK!" I said while punching my steering wheel. "What the hell did I just do?"

If I had been sane and remained in control of myself, there was no way in hell I would have kissed her at that moment. We were fighting, for crying out loud. I tried to think about what triggered my attack on her lips, but the entire thing was a blur, including whether or not she kissed me back…which I highly doubted considering her hand's stinging contact to my face.

I didn't have Bella's phone number, so I couldn't call to apologize, but I did drive past her house on my way home…just to make sure she made it safely; I didn't know those people who drove her, they could have been axe murderers for all I knew.

When I was certain she was home, I left her alone and spent most of my weekend by myself in my room, trying to figure out how to move past what I did. I skipped church that Sunday, figuring that I needed to give Bella some space. Monday came and went, and we managed to make it through Bio without talking. It wasn't intentional, we just so happened to have a substitute that day, resulting in an hour's worth of some boring educational movie.

The next day wasn't much different. Our Bio teacher was still gone, so we continued with the movie, but I couldn't allow the strained silence between us to continue.

"Bella, I'm sorry. Ok?" I said quickly as she tried to escape the classroom after the period ended.

"Just leave it alone, Masen," she said without looking at me as she continued on her way.

"I can't leave _it_ alone," I said, refusing to give up.

"Why not?" she asked and finally stopped to look at me.

"Because, I _need_ you….as a friend," I said without even thinking, though I supposed it was a good enough answer.

"Friend?" she said skeptically.

"Yes. Bella, I really don't know why I kissed you… but I'm sorry, and I won't force myself on you again," I assured her.

"Fine," she said softly, and then calmly walked to her next class.

I kept my distance from her for the rest of the week, only speaking to her when necessary during lab, but when Friday rolled around again, I took my chances and met her at basketball practice.

"You're here?" she said surprised when she saw me walk in to the gym.

"Is that ok?" I asked hesitantly.

She nodded. "I'm sure the girls will appreciate it. They all seemed quite taken with you last week," she said with a small smile.

"Well, I have that affect on women," I said jokingly. After the words left my mouth, I immediately regretted them. The last thing I wanted to do was remind her of what a womanizing prick I had been in the past, especially after kissing her in the way that I did. But she didn't look upset by the comment at all; she just smirked, and then turned to address the girls.

The girls were still horrible, but I was surprised that most of them seemed to be trying to do what I had taught them during the previous week. For some unknown reason, they were responding to me, which was bizarrely satisfying.

"Edward, are you Bella's boyfriend?" one of the girls asked me during a water break.

Bella was standing within hearing range, so I knew she heard the question, but she didn't look up from what she was doing.

"No," I told her with a smile. "But we are friends."

"So, you're a boy, that's a friend…doesn't that make you her boyfriend?" the girl asked me confused.

"It's not like that," I told her with a light laugh.

"So… you don't kiss?" she concluded.

I looked up at Bella again, hoping to see some sort of reaction from her, but she didn't respond in any way.

"Uh…no, we don't kiss," I told the girl.

"That's too bad," she sighed. "I think you two would be perfect together," she said with a grin before running off to sit with her friends.

The rest of the practice went on without any issues, except for some minor snickering when Bella and I were demonstrating the proper way to block someone.

"So…are you going to continue to help us?" Bella asked uncomfortably after practice was over.

"If you'll have me," I responded quickly.

She nodded. "I can have the league director sign off on community service hours for you…if you'd like."

"And why would I need that?" I asked confused.

"Well, it looks good on your college applications."

"Is that what you're doing?"

"No… I won't be going to college right away," she said, taking me aback.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's not a big deal. My dad doesn't make a lot of money as a pastor, so I decided to just stay in town and work full time at the diner to help with the bills," she explained.

"What about your future? Don't you want to be a writer, or something?" I questioned.

"I'll get there eventually," she said, and then smiled at me.

"What?" I asked while returning her smile.

"Do you wanna go somewhere with me?"

"Yes," I said a little too eagerly.

She looked at me suspiciously, but then shrugged it off and grabbed my hand before leading me towards the forest behind the gym.

"You could have left your backpack in your truck," I said after noticing that she was carrying it on our impromptu hike.

"It's just easier this way," she said without explaining further.

"Where are we going, exactly?" I asked after ten minutes into our trek.

"We're almost there," she assured me.

We came to a clearing, and finally, we stopped.

"Uh…what are we doing here?" I asked confused as she took off her backpack and sat on a fallen log.

"Shh!" she hushed me, and then pulled on my sleeve so I would sit next to her. "There," she said pointing to a spot a few yards away.

"Is that…a deer?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah, I was hiking up here one day and saw it…it's _always_ here." She opened her backpack and pulled out an apple, and handed it to me.

"What do you want me to do with this?" I asked.

"Hold it out," she instructed and then forced my arm to straighten. She clicked her tongue, and then the deer shot its head towards us, and very slowly, walked closer.

"Wait, is it…" I asked worried that she was actually expecting me to let the animal eat out of my hand.

"Just hold still and stay quiet," she whispered. She continued to hold my arm, and she was so close that each breath she took washed over me like the warm breeze during a summer evening. It was a sharp contrast to the cold bite of the foggy air, but still left goose bumps across every inch of my exposed skin that was graced by her exhaled breath.

"Bella," I murmured as I turned to look at her.

"Shh," she repeated, and then something tugged on the apple I was holding, but I couldn't turn my head to see it. I was completely fixated on Bella's face, and I realized that I had never really seen her before. I always looked at Bella Swan as the stuck-up pastor's daughter, and refused to see her as anything more, but in that moment, I finally saw her clearly. She was absolutely perfect; her eyes, her lips, the soft curve of her jaw, even the way her hair fell gracefully over her shoulder held a certain beauty which I wasn't expecting.

"I feel bad, I haven't been up here in a while," she said, knocking me out of my reverie and bringing me crashing down back to reality.

"Huh?" I asked like a moron.

She let go of my arm and dug out another apple from her backpack.

"How many do you have in there?" I asked with a quiet laugh.

"I save them all week until I can make it up here," she explained softly.

"That's what you do with all the apples from the cafeteria?" I said amused.

"How do you know I always get apples from the cafeteria?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh…remember, I kicked one across the room."

"Oh…right," she said strangely.

"I thought you were saving the apples to give to a teacher, or something," I admitted.

"Wow, how lame would that be?" she said with a laugh. "You must really think I'm pathetic…well, I guess compared to the stuff you usually do, I am."

"I don't think you're pathetic," I said heavily.

We stared at each other intensely for a moment, and then she stood, scaring the deer away in the process.

"Where are you going?" I asked quickly, worried that I had pissed her off again.

"Let's get out of here," she said and grabbed my hand before pulling me up.

"Ok, where to now?" I asked her with a grin as we began our hike down.

"I should be getting home to make dinner," she said.

"You make dinner?" I asked surprised.

"Well, my dad certainly doesn't know how to cook. If it were up to him, we'd be eating pizza or at the diner every night."

"Whatever happened to you mom?" I asked without thinking. I just realized that in all the years I knew the Swans, her mother wasn't in the picture, but I never cared before to ask anyone why.

"Uh…she left when I was three," she said unexpectedly.

"The pastor's wife just left?" I asked in disbelief.

"My dad doesn't like to talk about her, but this is a small town and I've heard the gossip," she said emotionlessly.

"And what do people say?" I asked curiously. She didn't seem upset about the topic, so I figured my questioning was ok.

"She just got tired of pretending to be perfect. She and my dad were high school sweethearts, but when he became heavily involved with the church, she just didn't feel the same. I guess they just grew apart."

"So, she left _you_?" I asked, actually feeling angry about the entire thing.

Bella shrugged. "I think she wanted to start a new life. I don't remember her all that much, so it doesn't really bother me."

"Oh…well, that's cool, _I guess_. I mean, it's better to not remember than to live every day missing her," I said as carefully as possible.

"But, that's the hard part…I _wish_ I knew her…'cause maybe I wouldn't feel so different, and so….alone."

I was completely shocked by her comment. Bella had a ton of friends and was always busy with stuff, so I would have never thought she could feel alone even for a moment. But perhaps it was like those poems she was talking about; perhaps her being alone wasn't meant literally.

I wanted to ask her what she meant and why she felt that way, but my mouth locked shut and I forgot how to speak.

This wasn't me. I wasn't that guy who got all deep and had emotional conversations. I had no intentions of going down that road, and I absolutely refused to do it. I wasn't building a lifelong relationship with the girl; I just needed to find a way to her fucking pants.

"Do you want to hang out with me tomorrow?" Bella asked as we approached the parking lot. Her truck seemed to be fully functional again, so I couldn't force her to let me to give her a lift home anymore.

"Yeah… wait let me check my schedule," I said playfully so she knew I was joking. I pulled out my cell and stood beside her so she could clearly see my blank calendar. "Uh… hair appointment at nine, mob meeting at eleven thirty, a conference call with Bill Gates at one…. I guess I can squeeze some hang time with you in there somewhere."

"Shut up," she said with a smile, before shoving me lightly.

"Hey, I'm in high demand these days; everyone wants time with me. I'm just waiting on a call from the president."

"I'm sure," she said with a giggle.

"What are we going to do tomorrow?" I asked curiously.

"You'll see," she said with a smirk, and then got into her car and started the engine. She waved her fingers at me, and then pulled out of the parking lot and then took off towards her house.

I couldn't help but laugh to myself like an idiot. That girl definitely wasn't what I expected when I agreed to the bet, and my desire to win seemed to bizarrely both increase and decrease at the same time with each day I spent with her.

"I know what you're doing with Bella Swan," Emmett said the moment I walked into the Cullen house.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked bitterly, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little scared at the same time.

"I know that you've been spending time with the pastor's daughter, and that needs to end right now," he said strongly.

"You don't know shit," I told him arrogantly.

"I know that you're not being honest in your intentions with her," Emmett said truer than he realized.

"Oh yeah, and what are my intentions, then?" I challenged him.

"….I don't know exactly. But Alice said she saw you with her after school, and whatever you're planning, it better stop or else."

"Or else what? What the fuck are you going to do about it?" I asked coldly.

Emmett huffed like the big softy he was, and then looked me square in the eye. "Man, just don't mess with the girl."

"Why, do you have a thing for her?" I asked teasingly, but I definitely wasn't in the joking mood. If Emmett seriously thought he had a chance with the chick, he had another thing coming.

"No, I don't have a thing for her moron, I don't even really know her very well, but the last thing a girl like her needs, is a fuck up like you screwing around with her. You've messed around with enough people's lives."

"Emmett, are you her brother?" I asked him.

He scrunched his face up. "No. Why the hell would you ask me that?"

"Well, if you don't have the hots for her, and she's not your sister or related to you in any way, then she's not _your_ concern. Leave me the fuck alone, and mind your own shit!" I said heatedly before storming up to my room.

For whatever reason, Emmett really fucking pissed me off. What the fuck was his problem anyway? There was no way in hell I'd abandon the bet and lose my car, and even though he didn't really know the details of my scam, just the thought of leaving Bella alone angered me deeply.

The next day, I tried to text Bella to ask her what time we were getting together, but she didn't answer. I double checked the paper she wrote her number on, just to make sure I punched in the right buttons, and when I was sure that I had, I wondered if maybe she purposely gave me the wrong number to avoid my calls.

After sulking in my room for a couple hours, there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Leave me the hell alone!" I yelled to whoever it was.

"I thought you wanted to hang with me today," Bella's voice sounded from the other side of my door.

"Bella?" I said quietly, then looked around at my thrashed room, and started to panic. "Just a minute!" I said and quickly shoved whatever I could under my bed and into my closet.

When I had done all I could in the limited time I had, I went and opened the door. Bella was standing there with her arms crossed in front of her, and looking at me suspiciously.

"What?" I asked with a guilty smile.

"You really didn't have to clean for me," she said with a smirk. "How will you find anything when it's all stuffed in your closet?" she asked knowingly.

I looked behind me at the closed closet, and wondered how the hell she knew what I did…. But then again, she seemed to always know whenever I was doing things dishonestly.

"Well, I'll clean it later," I said, not bothering to deny it. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"I thought we'd go to the city for the afternoon."

"Port Angeles?"

"Seattle," she said with a wink.

"Let me guess, there's some huge new Christian gift store opening up, and you just have to get there to catch the sale they're having."

She laughed. "Not exactly…come on, let's go."

When we got down stairs, Emmett locked eyes with me and shot me a warning glare.

"Bye Mrs. Cullen," Bella called to Esme in the kitchen.

"Bye sweetheart. We'll see you tomorrow at church," Esme called back.

"Sure thing," Bella replied, and then led me to her truck.

"Uh, no offense, but we may want to take _my_ car to Seattle," I told her.

"Why? You don't think my truck will make it?" she asked playfully offended.

"I don't think your truck can go over fifty miles per hour."

She bit her lip. "Fifty is pushing it," she admitted sheepishly.

"Ok, come on; let's go get my car from the garage."

She laughed, and followed me willingly.

"When are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked as I drove onto the freeway.

"When we get there," she said straight faced.

We were both silent for a while, but then she unexpectedly started caressing my hand, which was resting on the stick between us.

An electric pulse shot up my arm from her touch, and then down my spine. "What are you doing?" I asked hoarsely, feeling like there was a huge lump in my throat. I tried to swallow it down, but it wouldn't budge.

"You have really long fingers," she said casually.

"Uh…thanks," I said, unsure how else to respond.

"It wasn't a compliment," she said seriously.

"Oh."

"Edward…I'm just messing with you," she said and then started laughing.

I smirked back at her, but I was too off kilter to laugh. When I was with her and she caught me off guard like that, which seemed to happen a lot, I felt completely foreign in my own body. I was out of control, and I absolutely hated that feeling.

"Turn here," she said after we finally got into the city.

She directed me into a small parking lot, where we got out and I followed her into a book store. She spent over an hour looking up and down the rows, skimming through books that looked interesting to her, and surprisingly, I never even got bored. Watching her eyes light up with excitement when she found something new, was absolutely fascinating.

"Ready to go?" she asked after buying two books.

"You want to go home already?" I asked surprised.

"Nope, but this will be a whole lot easier if you'd let me drive," she said with her hand outstretched, waiting for me to give her my keys.

"Uh…no."

"Oh come on, I've always wanted to drive it since we were kids," she whined.

"No one has driven this car but me since my mom died," I explained quickly.

"Ok," she said quietly. "Just head west," she instructed.

I sighed, and then dangled the keys in front of her.

"No Edward, its fine. I understand completely, and I wouldn't have even asked if I realized that you don't let anyone drive it."

"I've just been unhealthily possessive of it because it was my mom's, but I just realized how stupid that is, so take the keys."

"No, it's ok for you to…"

"Just take them before I psych myself out," I said in a rush.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"No….yes…just take the freakin keys."

"Ok," she said hesitantly, and then grabbed them out of my hands and went around to the driver's side door to get in.

It was extremely surreal, and nerve-racking, to be sitting in the passenger seat of my car. The last time I sat anywhere besides the driver's seat, was the day before my mother died. It wasn't the fastest car, or the most luxurious, but it was her dream car and I had loved it since the moment my dad bought it for her. Most of her things, like her clothes and such, were given to charity after she passed, so the car, along with some of her heirloom jewelry, was all I had left that really belonged to her. So, as the weeks went on since I first made the arrogantly thoughtless bet, I became more and more anxious about the idea of losing the car due to my stupidity.

I couldn't lose my car.

When Bella pulled into another parking lot, I relaxed a bit, but became extremely confused.

"Oh…don't look at me like that," she said with an embarrassed smile.

"No, I just never took you for a clubbing type of chick," I said honestly. "You're not just doing this because you think I would want to, are you?"

"Nope. I love to shake my ass," she said with a laugh.

I had been to nightclubs before, but I usually went much later at night and used my fake ID to get in. Apparently before eight however, that particular club was open to minors, and Bella seemed more than a little familiar with the place.

It was surprisingly crowded for the early hour, but we managed to find a table and ordered some virgin daiquiris.

"Come dance with me," she said while taking my hand.

"No. I don't dance," I said unwilling to move. I supposed being in a place like that without the ability to get alcoholic beverages was pretty pointless for someone like me, but I still refused to dance.

"I don't dance either, and if there was anyone here that I knew….besides you, I wouldn't even think about it. But that's the beauty of being in the city. No one will care if you look like an idiot or even fall on your face…which I've done."

"So, let me get this straight…you drive all the way out here _alone_, just to dance where no one from Forks will see you?"

"Yep, now come on," she said, refusing to take no for an answer.

The thought of her being alone in the city freaked the hell out of me, but I wasn't exactly sure why. I shook off the thought, and stood there like a loser on the dance floor as Bella started moving her body in front of me.

She closed her eyes, raised her arms in front of her, and moved in a way that I didn't think a girl like her was even capable of. And though I'd never admit it out loud, it was fucking sexy.

After a minute, she realized that I wasn't dancing, so she grabbed my hands and placed them on her hips, forcing me to move with her. My fingertips tightened on the fabric of her pants, and uncontrollably pulled her closer to me. I expected her to pull away, and perhaps even slap me again, but she didn't even pause. She continued swaying to the music, and allowed the new contact that our bodies were making.

The longer we danced, the more comfortable we both seemed to get, and our light contact quickly became more forceful. We got to the point where we were full on grinding against each other, and I couldn't remember a time when I was more aroused. Needless to say, I had to excuse myself to the bathroom before she noticed, and I embarrassed myself even more than I already had with my awkward dance moves.

"You ok?" she asked with a smirk when I returned to our table.

"Yeah, great," I said honestly. I felt much more relaxed after taking my little _break_.

"I think we should be heading back. We still have a three hour ride home," Bella suggested.

"That's probably a good idea," I agreed, even though I actually didn't want to leave at all. From the moment we stepped foot into the club, I didn't think about the bet once. It had been so heavy on my mind for weeks, and being there with Bella without worrying about it, was definitely a relief that I didn't know I needed.

"Will you be at church tomorrow?" Bella asked when we got closer to Forks.

"Yeah, well Esme likes me to go," I said without even thinking.

"So, you don't go for yourself?" she questioned.

"Not usually," I said truthfully. I thought she'd get angry from it, but she didn't seem affected at all.

"But, you'll still be there?" she asked casually.

"Yeah, I will. Maybe, we can like…sit together, or something," I asked.

"Sure," she said distractedly. I pulled up in front of the Cullen house, but instead of getting out of the car, we both just sat there in thick silence.

"I can drive you home and bring you back here to get your truck tomorrow, if you want," I suggested after a few minutes. Bella had begun caressing my hand again, lightly tracing the lines there, and it felt absolutely fucking amazing.

"No, I'll just drive it home tonight," she said without looking up from my hand.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on my seat, as she moved her touch to my fingers. With every stroke to my skin, she sent electric waves up and down my spine, and I couldn't take it anymore. I flipped my hand over so she could continue with her caressing on my palm, but instead of alleviating the pressure that was building between us like I hoped, it almost made it worse.

I had to stop her otherwise I'd surely go insane, but I didn't want to offend her or hurt her feelings, so I simply closed my fingers around hers, clasping our hands firmly together.

The juvenile act of holding hands with Bella, curiously felt more intimate than anything sexual I had ever done before. I didn't understand it, and it made me extremely uncomfortable. I let go of her hand quickly, and practically jumped out of the car to escape her.

She followed me out more slowly, and walked over to her truck.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I asked again.

"Yeah," she replied. She got into her truck, but when she tried to start it, nothing happened.

I walked over and popped the hood to see if I could figure out what was wrong, but there wasn't anything obvious.

"I'll just give you a ride home, and then I'll have a tow truck come tomorrow to bring it to whichever mechanic you use," I told her.

"I just got it out of the shop," she said frustrated.

"Don't worry about it, whatever it is, I'm sure they can fix it."

She brought her hands to her temples in a stressful way, and I wondered what her issue was, but then I remembered her saying that her and her father didn't have a lot of money.

"You know what, Emmett's girlfriend is really good with cars, and I can have her take a look at it when she comes over tomorrow," I offered.

"Seriously?" she asked relieved. "And you think she can figure it out?"

"If anyone can, who's not a professional, it's her. How about I just bring you back here after church tomorrow, and we'll see what she can do?"

She smiled halfheartedly. "Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." I actually felt really bad about the entire thing. I grew up with a lot of money, and when I went to live with the Cullens, that didn't change, so I couldn't even imagine what it was like for her. I would have just offered to pay for it myself, but I thought she would be offended, so that's why I was really hoping Rosalie could fix it.

When we pulled up to the Swan house, I became slightly concerned. "It's really dark in there. Where's your dad right now?" I asked.

"He works really late sometimes... he volunteers at the shelter in Port Angeles whenever he can."

"Oh…do you want me to hang out for awhile until he gets home?" I asked.

"I'm used to being alone," she said emotionlessly. "But, if you want to come in for awhile, you can."

I looked into her eyes to try to judge if she really wanted me going in, or if she was just trying to be polite, but I couldn't decipher between the two, so I decided to pick the one that worked for me.

She popped popcorn and put in some retarded teen vampire movie, and we sat on the couch and quietly tried to make sense of the horrible plot.

"I don't get it," I said vacantly.

"What?" she said with a giggle.

"If they're 'vegetarian vampires', then why do they eat animals?"

"They still need blood to survive, they just don't kill humans for it," she explained.

"What's the fun in that? And the lead guy, Rick…"

"Robert," she corrected.

"Whatever. How sick is it that he fell in love with a human anyway? I mean, that would be like me falling in love with a cow…or better yet, a hamburger…. And what's with the longing stares, and the dude bouffant?"

"It's sexy," she said with a laugh.

"Does that Katherine chick even like him, or is she just using him to become immortal?"

"She loves him, I mean it's obvious…and her name is Kristen."

"Really? Cause all I keep hearing is 'I want to be a vampire', 'why did you save me', 'I wanna live forever', bla bla bla."

"Ok, next time, you can pick the movie," Bella decided.

"And the worst part," I continued with my rant. "Was the fact that she obviously wanted to bang him, but he was too much of a pussy and was like 'no, I'm an ancient virgin'… Fucking pathetic."

"Hey, some people respect the idea of waiting until marriage," she said defensively.

I huffed, realizing that I may have pissed her off again, but she didn't look angry, so I pushed her a little further. "Well, at least he kissed her…that was actually pretty hot…. I mean, there's nothing wrong with kissing, right?"

"No, there isn't," she said quietly. We were already sitting close, but I carefully moved even closer to her, hoping she would get the hint and allow me to kiss her. She watched me intensely as I leaned in slowly, but she didn't move or speak…she just waited. I was fairly certain my intentions were obvious, but in order to avoid being slapped again, I needed to move extremely slow and give her a chance to tell me no.

My face was within inches of hers, and my hand came up to caress the side of her face, but she didn't move. My lips brushed against hers carefully, testing her for a reaction, but she still waited. Ever so softly, I pressed my mouth to hers, and when she kissed me back, I knew she wanted it too.

I kissed her again, longer the second time and with more pressure, and she returned it. Then, everything erupted. I didn't remember making the decision to move, but I found myself lying on top of her, across the length of the couch. It was like I was watching us from the sidelines, because I had absolutely no control over what I was doing.

I was between her legs, and she didn't push me away or ask me to stop. I suddenly felt my hand lift one of her legs over my hip so I could get even closer to her, pelvis to pelvis. I tried to concentrate on her movements, to make sure I wasn't missing her signs to stop, but she didn't give any. Her hands were all over me, in my hair and up my back under my shirt. Her mouth moved eagerly with mine, and when my tongue touched her lips to ask for an entrance, she allowed it and welcomed me inside.

God, she tasted good.

I shifted my hips away from her, but then she used her leg over my hip to firmly bring me back. I pulled away again, and she repeated her action as well. So, I pretty much took that as an invitation, and began thrusting back and forth.

She moaned, and I nearly lost my mind as my jeans became increasingly tight, which resulted in my thrusting becoming more frenzied. She held me closer, and I kissed her harder. My hand moved from her waist to her fly, and I cautiously undid the button of her jeans. It was hard to think straight, but as fucked up as I was, I wasn't a rapist so I needed to be sure that she wanted me to continue.

She raised her hips…another invitation.

The button being undone was followed by her zipper coming down, and then I pulled back slightly to look her in the eye. Very slowly, and without pushing down her pants, I slipped my fingers under the elastic of her panties.

I watched her, and she watched me, our eyes never left each other, but my hand wouldn't stop.

Further down, my fingers sought out her sensitivity…and she allowed it. The moment I reached her moist folds, she closed her eyes, and let her head fall back.

_Was this really fucking happening?_

I never really doubted my skills, but it was definitely a surreal - out of body experience as I slid one of my fingers inside of her, and then another. My thumb continued to rub her swell, as my two other fingers explored her inner walls.

"God, Bella," I breathed…. _big mistake._

"Edward, stop," she said suddenly.

"Huh?" I asked seriously confused.

"Stop," she said again, and grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled my hand out of her pants.

"What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"This is…it just…I can't do this," she said breathlessly.

"Ok," I said gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to move that fast…I don't know what came over me."

After she refastened her pants, we both sat on the couch uncomfortably. I never messed around with a virgin before, so I had no idea what she was thinking or what I should say.

Abruptly, the phone rang, and we both jumped.

"Hello?" Bella answered it. "Ok, I'll see you soon," she said, and then hung up. "My dad is on his way home," she whispered to me. "You need to leave."

I nodded. "Can we still sit together tomorrow?" I asked unsure.

She looked towards the front door, and wouldn't make eye contact with me again. "Edward…I can't do this," she said.

"I know, I shouldn't have pushed you," I said apologetically.

"No, that's the problem, you didn't," she said unexpectedly. "But that's not what I mean….I mean that I can't hang out with you _at all_ anymore."

"What? Why?" I asked feeling my heart begin to race….I couldn't let her ban me from her life; I couldn't lose my car.

_Think idiot_ – I thought to myself, but I couldn't figure out a way to smooth it over.

"Bella, I won't push you again," I told her unconvincingly.

"That's not what I'm worried about," she muttered.

"What then?" I asked in almost a panic.

"I just don't trust myself with you," she said brokenly, and then went over to the front door and opened it, waiting for me to leave.

She still wouldn't look at me, and her face was set in a resolved mask, so I sighed and walked out of her house feeling like a complete and utter failure.

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><p><strong>***AHHH! <strong>

**Is Bella weak? Do we hate Edward even more? Good or bad, I'd love to read your thoughts. **

**Please Review  
>l<br>l  
>l<br>V**


	6. Pain

**Unintended **

A/N: Once again, this chapter is far longer than I intended. Please don't expect all chapters to be this long, but like the last one, I needed the story to move…and yes, A LOT happens in this chapter. At chapter six, this is definitely one, if not _the most_ intense chapter of the story. I hope it doesn't feel too rushed.

**Warning! This chapter contains graphic violence; don't read if you are sensitive about death and/or murder.**

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><p>~Chapter 6 –<em>Pain<em>~

What the fuck was wrong with me? I never would have thought I could be so weak. The bet should have been easy and finished quickly. I should have already gotten the keys to Laurence's motorcycle by now. I never had such a hard time with a girl before, and I was quite certain I never would again either. Somehow, someway, Laurence must have conned me; he must have known that Bella Swan would be an impossible conquest, and he used my arrogant ignorance to his advantage. Fucking bastard.

"I want out of the bet," I told Laurence angrily. He and James were getting stoned at Vicky's house, which wasn't a surprise.

"Whoa brother, a bet is a bet," Laurence said, and then took another puff on his joint.

"No, fuck that!" I yelled. "You knew damn well that Bella Swan was never going to give it up." After my last encounter with the prude, I knew getting into her pants was impossible, and I was furious. I couldn't lose my car.

"If you recall, I did say that there was no way in hell you'd ever win. Do you honestly think I would have bet my bike if I thought you had any real chance of succeeding?" he said with a laugh.

"Edward, you did say that you could get any chick to fuck you," James sided with Laurence quietly.

"Bella Swan is _not_ a 'chick'!" I exploded. "She doesn't have regular 'chick' desires, because if she did, I would have fucked her by now. This is fucking ridiculous and you both know it."

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Vicky asked as she stumbled her way out of the bathroom. "Oh, hey baby," she said when she saw me.

"Don't fucking '_hey baby'_ me," I said disgusted.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked offended.

"He's got blue balls from chasing after the Swan prude for the past few weeks," Laurence explained with a chuckle.

"Fuck you!" I spat.

"Wow, now why would you want to screw the preacher's daughter?" Vicky asked.

"I didn't _want_ to do anything. It was a fucking bet," I said bitterly.

"Yes, a bet that you're running out of time with," Laurence smirked.

"No. I'm pulling the plug on the entire thing. Call me a pussy all you want, but I'm not fucking her, and you're not getting my car," I told him strongly.

"You see, that just doesn't work for me," Laurence said smugly.

"Fine, I'll pay you cash for the price of the car…but you're not getting my mom's Volvo."

Laurence started cracking up, and Vicky and James joined him.

"Dude, I don't want your fucking money. That's a 2008 updated version of Volvo's R-Design performance accessories line for the C30 hatch range. Your mommy was only one of four hundred people to have gotten their hands on one, and there is no way in hell I'm letting you get out of the bet. I want that fucking car, and I want it bad."

"There are hundreds of fancier and faster cars that came out both before and after my car. I'll fucking take you to a lot and buy you a Corvette or a BMW, but you're not getting your fucking hands on my car."

"Well, if you don't want me to get my hands on your car, then I suggest you get your hands on the Swan prude," Laurence said unfazed.

"You know what? I never signed any papers, so I don't have to give you anything," I said smugly and then headed out of the house.

"No, but I have a 9mm that says you do," he called after me. I stopped and turned back around towards him, and waited for him to complete his threat. "I have plans for that pretty car of yours, and I refuse to let you back out."

"Since when did you become a fucking gangbanger, _Larry_?" I said mockingly. "We've been friends since the Jr. High, and you've never once been as hard as you're pretending to be right now. You're really going to shoot me if I don't hand you over the keys to my mother's car?"

He shrugged. "I really like that car," he said carelessly.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll watch your fucking back," I warned him, and then I turned to leave again.

"Edward, wait!" James called after me, and ran out front to catch up.

"I'm glad you wised up, because if you were to stay with Laurence, I'd have to trash your reputation along with his," I told him casually.

"Uh…no, I'm not taking your side," he muttered.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"Come on man, you agreed on the bet," James tried reasoning.

"I was fucking swindled!"

"Still, maybe this will help you realize that you're not the master of the universe. I mean, you really can't blame anyone else for this but yourself….I'm actually really glad you lost."

"Excuse me?" I fumed.

"Bella doesn't deserve to be fucked over by you."

"I can't believe this," I said to myself. "I thought you were my friend?" I said bitterly.

"I am…but let's face it, you're different now."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"All the time you've spent with her, has definitely changed you…and you don't even realize it," he said without an ounce of his normal fear he usually had towards me.

"It's only been a few weeks. I've been playing a fucking part dipshit, I haven't changed jack."

"Fine, why don't you come back inside and light up with us then?" he suggested.

"I'm not going anywhere near that prick."

"Fine, I'll get some and bring it out for us."

I thought about it for a moment, and the idea of getting wasted was definitely appealing, but I needed to stay focused if I was going to figure out a way to keep my car.

"No… I have to try to finish this," I told him.

"What are you going to do?" he asked concerned.

"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out…. By the way, you can go fuck yourself," I told him.

"Eddie," Vicky said softly. She came out of her house, and was walking towards me.

"What the fuck do you want?" I asked her angrily.

"It's been awhile since we got together last… you wanna meet up later?" she asked flirtatiously.

I was about to remind her that we hadn't been 'together' since freshman year, but the look on James's face gave me a new idea. I grabbed Vicky by the back of the neck, pulled her against me, and planted my mouth to hers.

"Mmm," she moaned and rubbed her hand across my jean covered cock. She pushed and rubbed through my pants, but the entire thing actually made me want to vomit…my dick never even showed a twitch of interest. The chick was a skank, and I only kissed her to piss off James. If he hadn't have been such a fucking pussy, I wouldn't have done it.

"This is for later," she whispered to me, before slipping something into my pocket.

"Until then," I told her after pulling back. I had a pretty good idea what she gave me, judging by the crinkly noise it made, but with how little I cared about her, I forgot about it almost immediately.

"Here, I changed my cell," she said and then reached into my other pocket, and pulled out my phone so she could input her new number.

"Can't wait," I said with a smirk to James.

Yeah, it was a dickhead move on my part, but that pansy pissed me off and I knew he had a thing for the skank, so I used her.

I took out my phone to delete her number as I drove away, because there was no way in hell I'd fuck around with her, but for some reason, I couldn't find her number.

"What the hell?" I wondered. But I shrugged it off and figured that she was too stupid to save it correctly, which only benefited me anyway.

For the next week, I pretty much kept to myself; I didn't have any friends outside Laurence and James, and I refused to be around either one of them. Bella and I hardly spoke in Bio, so I decided to stop fighting that as well, and I traded back to our original partners.

"Really? I can work with Bella again?" Mike asked enthusiastically. "Do I have to give you the twenty back? Cause I spent it already."

"No, you don't have to give it back…just don't tell Bella that I ever paid you," I warned him.

"I won't," he assured me.

When Bella came into class that day, she seemed surprised to see Mike in his original seat again, but after glancing back at me briefly, she dismissed the entire thing and acted as if nothing was different.

_Fucking bitch_.

Every time I saw Bella, my stomach ached in a way that I didn't understand, which only made me loathe her even more. I supposed it was just a reaction from knowing what an utter failure I was, and how I was about to lose my mother's car, but I still hated the feeling, so I did everything possible to avoid her.

I always knew my life was fucked up when I got stoned with Laurence and James, but being completely alone was even worse. I hated myself and the entire fucking world, but I didn't have the benefit of numbing it all away with drugs. I probably could have gotten my hands on something, but for whatever reason, I just didn't.

And then the flyers and posters for the Spring Fling started littering the school. It was just yet another reminder of my pathetic failure.

"Hey honey, can you come in here please?" Esme called to me as I was on my way up to my room after school one day.

"Yeah?" I asked emotionlessly.

"Will you help me with this?" she asked while holding a potato peeler towards me.

I huffed. "I have homework," I told her.

"I know, but this won't take long," she said with a smile.

"Fine," I said and then walked into the kitchen to help her.

After horribly peeling two potatoes in silence, Esme cleared her throat and started making small talk.

"So, how's school?" she asked.

"Fine," I said.

"So, Bella said that you two were working on a poetry assignment, or something?" she asked.

"That was weeks ago," I told her coldly.

"Oh…that's right, I'm sorry. Well, how did it go?" she asked me.

I shrugged. "Never finished it."

"Why?" she asked disappointed.

"Bella and I weren't exactly a match made in heaven, Esme. We couldn't figure out a way to work together, so I gave up."

"Well, what about the assignment. I can't believe Bella would just fail at something."

"It wasn't her assignment, it was mine. I asked her to help me, and she tried, but I guess I'm just too much of a fuck up for her to bother with."

"Oh…do you want me to help you?" she asked kindly.

"Nope, assignment was due last week."

"Well, perhaps I can call your teacher and ask if you can do a makeup," she offered.

"It's fine, Esme. I'll do extra credit to catch up over the summer."

"Edward, what wrong?" she asked concerned.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her confused.

"You just seem so down."

I laughed once humorlessly. "As oppose to my normal cheery self?" I asked sarcastically.

"No…usually you're cold or belligerent, but lately you just seem…sad."

"I'm not _sad,_" I insisted sourly before throwing down the peeler, and storming back into my room.

A few hours later, there was a knock on my door, but before I could answer, they just walked right in. I had gotten my door back, but the lock was gone indefinitely so I still had no fucking privacy.

I didn't look up to see who had come into the room, but I felt the bed move under me, so I knew whoever it was had sat.

"Leave me alone," I said distantly.

"Edward, we need to talk," Carlisle said calmly.

"About what?" I asked frustrated.

"Your inheritance," he said, catching my attention.

"What about it?" I asked while sitting up to look at him.

"Look, your father made the grade stipulation before… before he…"

"Yeah I get it. He made the stipulation before he snapped and went crazy, I know."

"Yes well, I understand why these last four years have been difficult for you, and I don't think it's fair to keep the B average rule," he said unexpectedly.

"Ok…so what does that mean?" I asked.

"I want you to take the rest of this year, and really try to do your best. Next year I want you to do the same, and if you show me that you're really trying, then regardless of your grades, as long as you graduate, I'll sign the papers to bypass the stipulation."

"So…if the best I can do is all Cs and Ds, then I'll still get my money?" I asked with more excitement than I felt in weeks.

He took a deep breath, and nodded. "I really think you can do better than that, you're a smart person, but…I want you to understand that all of us support you, and want nothing more than for you to succeed."

"Thanks," I said carelessly. I was happy about his decision, but that didn't mean I wanted to hear any of his supportive bullshit.

"You know Edward, we used to be close, and I really wish we could become that way again someday," Carlisle said gently.

"Yeah well, it's easy to like someone when you don't live with them," I said scornfully.

"Yes, I understand that. When your parents were…here, I never had to be the bad guy with you…. You know, I credit you for helping me become a father to Emmett," he said abruptly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, he hated me when Esme and I got married. He was a five year old kid who loved his dad and wanted his parents to stay together. When Esme became pregnant with Alice soon into our relationship, Emmett just pulled away even further. It went on for years, but whenever we would get together with your family, you always got Em to relax and have fun. You were the little brother he always wished he had; he couldn't make that connection with Alice, because she was a constant reminder that his mom chose me instead of his dad. But then he would see you playing games with me, and he realized that I wasn't so bad."

"If only I knew then, what I know now," I said cruelly.

Carlisle sighed, and then he smiled. "You were a four year old kid who looked up to nine year old Emmett, and one day I overheard you ask him 'Em, why are you so angry all the time?'"

"I don't remember that," I said quietly.

"Everything changed after that. For some reason, you got to him, and from then on, Em and I had a great relationship," Carlisle said reflectively.

I didn't respond for awhile, so Carlisle got up and walked towards the door.

"Did you know?" I asked before he could shut the door behind him.

"Did I know what?" he asked while walking back to my bed. He must have realized it wasn't a simple question, so he didn't want to stand in the doorway to answer.

"Did you know…what was going to happen?"

Carlisle understood what I meant, so he looked hard into my eyes, and said "No. Edward, your dad was my best friend and we did everything together; we were college roommates, we interned together, we were in each other's weddings…but I swear, I had no idea what he was going through at that time. He became distant, and we hadn't talked in weeks….when I heard what happened, I…"

"Ok, whatever!" I shouted. "I just wanted to know if you knew ahead of time…if he ever gave a warning. I really don't care what you thought afterwards."

"Edward, if you ever want to talk…please, just let me know. Anytime, day or night, I'm here for you…always."

I clinched my jaw and nodded slightly, but didn't respond verbally. Carlisle must have figured that I had enough, because he left me alone then.

Another week past, and I realized that on top of being a virtual loner at school, I was about to lose my car. The dance was that Saturday, and I actually felt physically ill from it.

Since it was going into Spring Break, we had Friday off, which allowed all the losers to get everything they needed for the annual event. I didn't expect the day to be any different than any other weekend, but that night, I got a text that changed absolutely everything.

**I'm scared – B**

I stared at the text for a long time, before it even registered who it was from.

**Bella? – E**

**My dad's not home, and I heard a noise outside – B**

**I'm on my way – E **

It wasn't even a question in my mind, Bella was scared, so I was going to go to her.

I drove as fast as possible to the Swan house, and probably went through several stop signs along the way, but I really didn't care. My first thought was that Bella should have called the cops, but the fact that she texted me, freaked the hell out of me and made me feel strangely comforted at the same time.

When I pulled up to her house, I looked around quickly to see if I could find the cause of the noise she heard, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Bella!" I called through the door as I knocked.

She opened it quickly, and immediately wrapped her arms around my torso, and held onto me tightly.

"Shh, it's ok," I said to her as I embraced her securely. She was absolutely trembling, so I rubbed her back and unconsciously kissed her hair. "Let's go inside," I told her softly.

She nodded against my chest, and then we walked together into the house.

"What happened? What kind of noise did you hear?" I asked her protectively. I was extremely tense, and if someone was messing with her, I wouldn't hesitate to beat them until the point of death.

She let go of me, and then took a step away.

"What?" I asked, confused by her odd expression as she stared at me intensely.

"I lied," she said unexpectedly.

I tilted my head. "Lied about what?"

"There wasn't a noise….I just wanted you to come over here," she said quietly.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why?"

"Because I didn't think you would come if I just asked," she said guiltily.

"Of course I would have come," I stated.

"Really? I thought you hated me."

"Hated you? Bella, you're the one who told me that we couldn't be friends anymore…not the other way around," I told her despite the fact that I had felt feelings of hate towards her over the past weeks. Our separation was still her choice, and quite frankly, she kind of pissed me off by insinuating that it was my decision.

"I know, but you seemed pretty upset about it, and then you wouldn't even talk to me at school, and you changed lab partners, and…"

"Whoa, wait a minute. You said you didn't trust me and we couldn't spend time together anymore, so I just did what you asked and stayed away," I said incredulously.

She turned her back to me, and began folding a couch blanket.

"Bella, what's going on?" I asked confused.

"I just wasn't sure how I felt about you…and it scared me," she said distractedly while fluffing the cushions.

"Bella, can you just stop cleaning your clean house, and just talk to me for a moment?"

"Sorry," she said and then turned back towards me, but her tidying up had moved her to the opposite side of the room, which I realized was her intention all along. She tried to get further away from me, which confused me even more. _What the hell did she want from me_?

"Just tell me why you asked me to come," I said frustrated. Being around Bella was actually difficult for me, and the last thing I wanted right then was to hear her tell me _again_ why we couldn't hang out. I was about to lose my car in one day's time, and I seriously wanted to be out driving it at the moment, or perhaps messing it up so Laurence couldn't enjoy it properly. If it were possible to ruin the engine in one night, I was going to do it.

"I missed you," she admitted, taking me aback.

"Huh?" I asked, thinking I heard her wrong.

"You know, when we were kids, you were the one person who I looked forward to seeing everyday at school."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, suddenly feeling peculiarly claustrophobic in the smallish house.

"Edward, I need to know if what I feel for you is real…I need to know that you like me for _me_. Every time we hung out, I tried to show you aspects of myself that no one else sees, because I wanted to give you a chance to decide for yourself how pathetic I was, but you just kept coming back regardless. So, I got scared when I realized that there were only two possible reasons for your continued interest. Either, you had an ulterior motive, or you actually legitimately liked me…both were equally terrifying for me." She paused and waited, but I wasn't exactly sure what she wanted me to say. "So, which is it?" she asked.

"Of course I like you," I told her dishonestly with a thick voice.

She bit her bottom lip. "How do I know?"

I laughed once. "You want me to prove it?"

She nodded. "I'm so confused when it comes to you. I mean, it's obvious that you've lied so much, and I'm not even sure if you know when you're doing it anymore. But none of it really matters, because it doesn't stop me from feeling this overwhelming desire to be with you. I just…I need to be sure of how you feel about me."

"I do…want to be with you," I said hoarsely.

She stared at me, but she must have seen the conflict in my eyes, or heard the doubt in my voice, because she shook her head and turned away again.

"What do you want me to say? You said you wanted me to prove it, then tell me what I have to do to make you believe."

"Fine," she said and started walking up the stairs, but then waited for me to follow. I hadn't been to the second floor of that house since the day of my parent's memorial service nearly four years prior, so it felt odd going back up, but I followed anyway.

As if she could read my mind, Bella asked "do you remember the last time you were up here?"

"Yep," I said uncomfortably….

_I couldn't handle the service, it was just too difficult to sit there in the pews and see the three caskets lined up in a row, with the dreary music playing in the background. Even if I could bear seeing the full length wooden boxes that contained my parents, I just couldn't stomach seeing the smaller one in the middle. It was just wrong on so many different levels, so I needed to escape._

_I ran out of the church, and swore I would never go back. My chest wounds ached from my sudden movements and I felt awkward from having my arm in a cast, but I ignored it and refused to let my discomfort stop me._

_I didn't know where to go, or what to do, so I just stopped and stood there blankly feeling completely lost and alone. I wasn't expecting anyone to come after me, but suddenly, she was there. Bella put her hand in mine and led me down the street to her house. I followed in a daze, and the next thing I knew, I was in her bedroom. _

"_Why am I here?" I asked her._

"_You looked like you needed a place to go," she said softly. "Do you want me to leave you alone for awhile?" she asked. _

_Bella and I had known each other for a long time, but we weren't exactly close. In all the same classes since preschool, she was a constant around me growing up; her dad baptized Bree, and Bella had babysat her on many occasions. My family was heavily involved in the church, especially my dad..which just proved how little any of it actually meant. _

"_I already am alone," I said coldly._

"_No, you're not," she said softly. "You have the Cullens, and your friends…and me."_

"_I don't have anyone!" I said angrily. "Nothing matters anymore."_

"_Edward, even though you've lost your family, that doesn't mean they're really gone. They're still here, watching over you."_

"_Really? Prove it," I said bitterly. _

"_I can't…It's like the wind. I can't see it or hold it in my hands…but I can feel it. And you can too, if you just try," she said emotionally, which just pissed me off even more._

_I suppose I always liked Bella, but that didn't give her a right to be spewing bullshit about healing from the blow I just got. She didn't understand, no one did, and no one had a right to say anything about it._

"_You have no idea what you're talking about, none of its real, Bella. It's just like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. Your dad just makes up that shit on Sundays to scare people into being nice to each other, but it's all a lie…and don't ever speak to me about my family again."_

_I ran out of her house, and down the street. I just kept running until I couldn't breathe anymore, and when I finally collapsed, somehow Carlisle found me and brought me back to his house…or, I guess it was my house then too, at least it would be until I turned eighteen._

_I didn't go to the burial; I didn't need to, because I was already there. I didn't die physically that night with my family, but everything else inside of me did. I was in the ground with them, and I never had the desire to dig myself back out._

…_.._

"Bella, I don't want to be in here," I told her honestly.

"I know… but you don't really want to be _anywhere_, and you need to face it," she said while grabbing a hold of my hand.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Tell me…everything about that night."

"What night?" I asked, playing dumb despite knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"You know what night," she said softly.

"And you already know what happened…everyone knows," I said dismissively.

"I know what the newspaper said, but I want to hear it from you."

I shook my head. "What the hell does this have to do with you and me?"

"You've kept it locked inside you for four years now, and it's eating you alive. Don't you see? I can't trust you because you hide behind the stone walls you've built, and you lie to cover the cracks. And I can't trust myself because I want to be with you anyway….but I need to know its real."

"How does me telling you about that night, prove anything?"

"Because, it'll mean that you care enough about me to let me in. If you honestly want to be with me, then you'll try."

"And what makes you think that I want to be with you _that_ much?" I asked harshly.

She let go of my hand, and put her head down. "I guess you don't….I'm sorry I called you over here. I won't bother you anymore."

She turned her back towards me, and I felt like my entire chest had been completely ripped out. It was like with that simple turn, I knew I'd never have another chance. Once I walked out her door, I'd never be alone with her again; I'd never look into her chocolate eyes and feel like I had a purpose…it was all really over.

I had been pretending to be someone else for so long, that the line between the lie and reality had blurred. I couldn't tell which persona of myself was the scam, and it scared the shit out of me. But in that moment, nothing else mattered to me than taking away the hurt from her face. If I had to be the one hurting to do so, then so be it.

"They were fighting again…like they had been doing a lot for several months," I began, which made her lift her head and look at me. I walked over slowly and sat on her bed, and waited for her to sit with me before I continued. "Bree was scared, so she ran to my room and climbed into bed with me. We heard a bang…but I dismissed it, and promised her that I wouldn't let anything hurt her."

…..

"_It's ok. Bree, look at me," I demanded. It was dark, but our eyes were adjusted and I knew she could see me well enough. "I would never let anything hurt you. You know that right?" I said to her intensely. She was only six years old, so it was my job to protect her._

_She nodded, and I could feel her entire body relax as a response._

_Suddenly, I noticed that everything was quiet. There was no more yelling, and no more loud noises. I didn't understand it, but my muscles stiffened from the eerie silence, and Bree felt it._

"_Edward, what's wrong?" she whispered._

"_I…I don't know," I said honestly. "Stay here for a minute," I told her._

"_Edward, don't leave me!" she cried._

"_Shh! I won't leave, I just need to check something real quick." _

_I walked to the door, and cracked it open to peek out._

_I looked down the hall to the kitchen, and then I saw it…a deep red puddle on the tile floor, but from my position, it's source was obscured by the cabinets. _

_I carefully took one step out, praying that the red liquid was nothing more than spilled paint of some sort, but then I saw a hand lying limp in the mess. _

_I didn't need to look any further, I understood immediately what it was. I backed into my door, but I stumbled and knocked my elbow hard against the frame. With the noise, my father stepped into view from where he was in the kitchen, and we locked eyes. _

_I gasped and shook my head terrified, before jumping in my room and slamming the door shut._

"_Edward, what happened?" Bree asked._

_I didn't have a lock on my door, and I could hear his footsteps as he walked closer and closer, so I used my body weight to try and keep him out._

"_Bree, you need to climb out the window, and run next door, ok?" I told her in a rush._

"_Why?" she asked terrified._

"_Just do it!" I yelled._

"_Edward!" my father's voice called from the hall. The door handle jiggled, and I knew he was trying to get in. "Edward, open this door right now," he demanded._

"_Bree, you need to go," I told her as calmly as possible so I wouldn't scare her. _

"_Why?" she asked with tears streaming down her face._

"_Bree honey, it's daddy," he called to her from the other side of the door. "Baby, you need to get Edward to let me in."_

_I shook my head. "Don't listen to him, Bree," I said quickly. _

"_Why? Edward, it's just daddy," she said._

"_Daddy did something very bad…"_

"_Bree sweetheart, listen to me," he continued slowly. "Edward is just confused," he told her._

_Bree jumped off the bed and ran towards me. She grabbed a hold of my arm and tried to pull me away from the door, but I refused to budge. _

"_Damn it Bree, just listen to _me_," I told her sternly. "You need to climb out the window and run next door right now. Mom's hurt, you need to tell the Webbers to call an ambulance."_

"_Mommy's hurt?" she asked petrified._

"_Yes, now GO!" I yelled again._

"_Bree honey, daddy already called the ambulance," he told her. "But she's really sick and she wants to see you before they come for her."_

"_Edward, let me out!" she screamed at me._

"_NO!"_

"_Edward, listen to me son. I know you don't understand, but open the door and let me talk to you."_

"_Go to Hell!" I shouted._

_That just pissed him off. He threw his shoulder into the door, and my thirteen year old body just wasn't strong enough to keep him out. I fell onto the ground, and possibly broke my arm in the process, but the shooting pain was nothing compared to the pure agony I felt realizing what he had planned for us._

"_Daddy!" Bree shouted and ran to his open arms. _

"_Oh baby," he said lovingly as he held her. "Come on, I'll take you to mommy," he said softly._

"_No!" I screamed and tried to get up, but I stumbled again. _

_My dad whispered something to Bree, and she nodded then went to stand behind him. He stared at me for a minute and then closed the distance between us._

"_Edward, listen to me," he said quietly so Bree couldn't hear. "I don't want to hurt you, so don't make me. We're a family, and we need to stay together no matter what. I won't let your mother, _or you_, split us up .It'll all be over soon, and then we'll be together forever. Stay here while I bring your sister to mom, and then I'll come back for you and we'll meet them together… Ok?"_

_I didn't even realize that I was shaking my head until a very disappointed expression spread across his face._

"_I'm sorry son, but I can't have you scaring your sister," he said, before raising his hand and then everything went black._

_I had no idea how long I was unconscious for, but when I came to, I was alone in my room with a splitting headache. Convinced that it all had to have been a horrible nightmare, I got up and walked bewildered into the hall….but then I saw the blood again…it wasn't a nightmare._

_Everything became painfully clear, so I frantically ran towards the kitchen hoping to find my sister….but I was too late. _

"_Oh my god," I said breathlessly as I saw Bree lying lifeless in my dead mother's arms on the floor. I didn't know what to do, or how to respond. I felt like I was going to be sick, and the whole room began spinning._

"_Edward, everything is going to be ok," my father cooed. He had a bible in one hand, as if he had any right to pray for them, and the gun in the other. "It'll be easier if you just let me do what needs to be done," he told me. "Now, go sit with them."_

_I shook my head._

"_Edward, this is the way it has to be…can't you see that?"_

_I couldn't find my voice, but suddenly my fight or flight instinct kicked in. I punched him as hard as a thirteen year old could have, but he didn't seem affected much. _

"_I won't fight you, son. I love you," he told me._

"_AHH!" I screamed and charged at him again, but he punched me hard in the jaw. I fell to the ground, but there was still no pain. I couldn't feel anything, not my broken arm, not my bruised jaw; there was no physical pain in the world that could compare to seeing my mother and sister slain on the floor._

_I got back up, but I realized that I couldn't hurt him, so I did the only thing I could…I ran like a coward. I tried to make it out the front door, but he followed me, and that's when I heard a loud noise and was punched in the back….at least, that's what I thought happened. _

"_I don't want you to be in pain," my father cried. "Please stop fighting. I can make it quick; Bree didn't feel anything, and you don't have to either."_

_I looked down at my chest, and there was a small red circle growing on my white T shirt. I shook my head again, and continued to the door. Then I heard another noise which I realized was more of a bang, and felt like I was punched in the back again, except this time, when I fell, I couldn't get back up._

"_I'm so sorry Edward," my father said tearfully as he kneeled over me."I didn't want you to be in pain."_

_He reached his hands under me, and the next thing I knew, I was being carried back to the kitchen where I was laid gently down next to my mother and sister._

"_I only have one bullet left," my father said apologetically. "Why did you have to run, Edward? It's going to be so much slower for you now. I'm so sorry," he repeated. _

_He sat down next to me, and held my hand as I bled out. He started reciting a verse from the bible, but it sounded like I was listening from underwater as his voice became fuzzier, and the ringing behind my ears grew louder._

_But then I heard the distant sound of sirens, and so did he. He looked back down at me, and apologized again._

"_I'm so sorry I couldn't end it quicker for you, son. I love you so much, and as soon as it's all over, you'll understand. We'll be together again soon, I promise." He bent down and kissed my forehead, before doing the same on my mother and sister. He sat next to me, held my hand again, and then put the gun to his temple. _

_I used the remainder of my energy to turn my head in the opposite direction, so that I could look at my mother and Bree one least time before the darkness overtook me. Despite the blood, they looked so peaceful and I finally understood what my father was saying. I wanted to join them, I wanted it to all end._

_I didn't hear the gun go off again, but his body fell down beside me, and then everything else disappeared._

…_.._

"I woke up in the hospital three days later," I told Bella.

She didn't respond, so I looked over at her and realized that she was completely debilitated with tears.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. I felt completely numb from the story, but her sorrow was overwhelming. "I shouldn't have told you any of that," I said emotionlessly.

"No, I practically forced you to tell me," she said regretfully though her tears. "I'm so sorry."

I shrugged carelessly. "Why are you sorry? You didn't kill anyone."

I was surprised by how easily I told her everything, because I refused to speak of it ever before. I had buried my emotions so deeply that it felt more like I was reading some horror novel, as opposed to reciting a firsthand account of the worst day of my life.

"Edward, I thought… I thought getting you to talk about it would help you," she blubbered. "Don't you feel anything?" she asked in reference to my lack of emotions.

I swallowed hard. "No," I said honestly.

Without another word, she slowly climbed onto my lap facing me, so that her legs were wrapped around my waist. Her arms locked behind my neck and she buried her face in the hallow of my collar bone. I didn't know why she was doing it, but I sure as hell wasn't going to push her off.

"Edward," she breathed, but not even her breath could awaken my senses the way that it had just a few weeks before. I wasn't sure if it was our time apart, or the memory I forced myself to tell, but I didn't feel anything at that moment. Not emotionally, and not even physically.

"Huh?"

But she didn't continue, she started kissing my neck, and as much as I wanted to enjoy it, I didn't.

"What are you doing?" I asked her quietly.

"I want to make it all go away for you. Do you want me, Edward?" she asked no louder than a breath.

"I don't want anything anymore," I said lifelessly.

She pulled back so she could look into my eyes, and then she rested her forehead against mine.

"I love you," she murmured unexpectedly.

"I…"

"You don't have to respond," she whispered.

I thought back to the day I made the bet, and remembered James asking me if I was going to tell her that I loved her just to get into her pants, and I carelessly said 'yes'. It seemed easy back then, it was after all, just a word, but for the life of me, I couldn't bring myself to tell her in that moment.

It should have been simple. _'Yes Bella, I love you more than I ever loved anyone_', I'd tell her, and then she would have kissed me and I probably could have used her sympathy to finally get her to let me fuck her…but I just couldn't do it.

I was confused and felt off balance, and I had no idea what was a lie and what was the truth anymore.

She pressed her lips to mine, and even though I didn't feel anything, I kissed her back. Our tongues got reacquainted, but I just didn't get any excitement out of it. It was only a matter of time until she pulled away again, so even if it were possible to feel anything, I wouldn't have bothered to get excited.

It should have been enough…If I really cared about her, just kissing would have satisfied me, but it didn't, so I figured that I was beyond hope of ever feeling anything real again.

But she didn't stop with just the kiss. She began unbuttoning my shirt, and a twinge of something shot up my spine.

"Stop!" I said angrily, and pushed her away from me. I didn't want to scare her, but there was no way in hell I'd allow anyone to touch me there.

"What happened?" she asked concerned. She wasn't scared by my outburst, just worried.

"I don't like that…"I told her strongly.

She stared at me confused for a moment, but then realization hit her quickly. "I'm sorry…I didn't think."

"What?" I asked sure that she had come to the wrong conclusion.

"You don't want me to see your scars."

I laughed once bitterly, and tried to find the will to deny it, but she was absolutely right…she was always right and it pissed me off to no end.

"It's ok," she murmured. "I won't touch you, if you don't want me to."

During all my escapades with different chicks, I had never allowed my shirt to come off. I didn't swim, or lounge around half dressed, and I refused to be a 'skin' when we were forced to play 'shirts and skins' during PE. I hardly tolerated being naked alone in the shower, and I'd always close my eyes when I washed myself. It was fucking pathetic, but I never once looked at my bare chest from the moment my life ended.

No one had ever cared before to notice my modesty, but then there was Bella, always seeing right through me.

The numbness weakened, and there was a moment of shooting pain right to where my father's bullets had hit me, and all I wanted was to make it go away.

"Bella," I said pleadingly. I wasn't sure what she could do, but I was desperate for relief in any way possible.

"I'm here," she whispered and climbed back on top of me, unfazed by my previous physical outburst. Her lips were back on mine, as if she was trying to kiss away the pain…and it actually seemed to be working. I fucking needed her like I needed air, and I knew without a doubt that she was going to give me all of her.

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><p><strong>****dun. Dun. DUN! <strong>

**Has Bella caved? Sorry to leave you hanging, but I promise I'll update soon if you all review. Lol**


	7. Perfect Confusion

**Unintended**

A/N: *SPOILERish- (skip to the beginning of the chapter if you don't want to know anything that's to come).*

_I've had a lot of people ask me if there will be a HEA, and those who have read my other stories know that I ALWAYS write HEAs for every story. Even when it seems impossible like in 'Moon Scars' and 'Innocent Sins', I believe that everyone is satisfied in the end. I wouldn't write something that I wouldn't want to read, and I hate when the main characters die or end up unhappy with other people. These characters have a long way to go before they get their HEA, but they definitely will eventually. _

_As stated in my Chapter 1 description, this story will eventually lead into adulthood for Edward and Bella; I have posted a banner for the second half of this story (years later). If you want to see where this is headed, check it out, but it has spoilers so if you want to be surprised, then don't look._

* * *

><p>~Chapter 7 – <em>Perfect<em> _Confusion_~

_The numbness weakened, and there was a moment of shooting pain right to where my father's bullets had hit me, and all I wanted was to make it go away._

"_Bella," I said pleadingly. I wasn't sure what she could do, but I was desperate for relief in any way possible. _

"_I'm here," she whispered and climbed back on top of me, unfazed by my previous physical outburst. Her lips were back on mine, as if she was trying to kiss away the pain…and it actually seemed to be working. I fucking needed her like I needed air, and I knew without a doubt that she was going to give me all of her. _

I turned us over so I was lying on top of her on the bed, and my hand automatically began undoing her pants.

"I want to be inside of you," I told her without fear of her reaction.

She didn't speak, but her slight head nod was all I needed to continue. I already knew she wanted me, but I had to give her one last chance to put on the breaks before I lost control again.

Her pants peeled away from her like they were nothing, and her panties were just as easily removed. She showed no signs of hesitation as she laid under me naked from the waist down. I wanted to caress her sensitivity, but I wanted my pants off more, so I decided to make myself as bare as she was before touching her.

As I was pushing down my pants, she removed her top, leaving her completely nude. I knew it couldn't have been comfortable for her, but she never backed down or tried to hide any part of herself. She was complete and utter perfection.

I couldn't hold back anymore. Everything dormant inside of me awoke in a burst of adrenaline, which rushed through my veins more potent than any narcotic induced high I had ever experienced.

My hands on her skin were frenzied as I tried to touch every inch of her. I kissed her neck and down to her chest, spending extra time on her perfect nipples. My hand found its way into the moist warmth of her folds, and she arched her back before letting a small moan escaped her lips…perfect.

Her hands ran under my shirt and up my back, and as I pressed my body into hers, I realized that I wasn't close enough. I wanted to feel her skin on mine, and I couldn't accomplish that with a shirt, so before I had a chance to rethink it, I pulled it over my head and flung it across the room behind me.

She stared at me in admiration for a moment, but then I crashed back down onto her forcefully. I rubbed myself between her thighs, and the feeling was beyond proper description. I wanted to be even _closer_…I needed to be inside of her because I had no idea how I would survive the night without her.

I couldn't get close enough, and I couldn't wait any longer.

"Edward…" she breathed.

Fuck.

I knew it was too good to be true, so I tried to find the will to pull away, but she only held me tighter.

"I don't have anything," she murmured into my ear.

I pressed my forehead to hers again, and then exhaled with a smile.

Without breaking contact with her skin, I used one hand to search out my discarded pants on the edge of the bed. I just so happened to have been wearing the same pants that Vicky had slipped the condom into a few weeks before, for which I was extremely grateful. The wrapper was extra crinkly from going through the wash a few times, but I didn't see how that could possibly lessen its effectiveness.

She never questioned why I would be carrying a condom in my pocket, and I was glad she didn't because I had no idea how I would have explained that one.

I tore open the package, and put it on as quickly as possible; the last thing I wanted was to give her enough time to start over-thinking everything.

With the condom in place, I crawled back over her, and resumed kissing her. He lips, her neck and down her body, I just couldn't get enough. I had never been with a virgin before, but the thought of touching her in a way that no one else ever had, was an extreme turn on.

I had many surreal moments with Bella since I started spending time with her again, but the moment I pushed into her for the first time, was definitely the most surreal of all. I had worked so hard to bury all my emotions for so long, but in that moment, they all came flooding out.

She wrapped her arms around me and dug her fingers into the skin on my back, as she got used to the feeling of me inside her. I didn't thrust at first; I just watched her face and could honestly say that I had never seen anything more beautiful.

Very slowly, I pulled out of her, and then her body stiffened as I pushed back in.

_God, she was so tight in the most amazing way._

I never had to work so hard at self-restraint in my life, and it was actually really fucking difficult. I wanted to pound into her until her legs went numb; it's what I was used to when it came to sex, but everything about Bella was different.

She wasn't cold or brazen like all the others I had been with, and I needed to be gentle with her…_at least for the first time. _

I slowly accelerated my pace, and although I had never seen the expression she was wearing before, it didn't particularly seem negative, so I continued my gradually increasing rhythm.

"Are you ok?" I whispered to her without stopping.

She nodded, but never fully relaxed into me.

I had so many thoughts, but couldn't focus on a single one – was she happy, did she want me to stop, did she wish I would go faster, slower, was she in pain? So many thoughts, and they were liable to drive me insane.

_Shut the fuck up, Masen_ – I thought to myself. I had never thought about anything during sex before, probably because I never cared what the girl was thinking, but for the life of me, I couldn't turn my brain off.

"Edward," she breathed. My heart jumped when my name rolled off her lips, and I really hoped she wasn't going to ask me to stop, because at that point, even though my mind was everywhere, I wasn't sure if I was strong enough.

First, my shirt was off, then my mind was going crazy, and then she demanded one more thing that I had always refused to do with anyone else….she wanted me to look her in the eye.

Our heads rested together as I moved in and out of her, and as we stared at each other, everything else melted away. But it wasn't in the vacant way that it had always been before; it was more like in a warming high which spread over every inch of me. It was a complete connection of everything that we were, both together and apart. It wasn't just her and me anymore; it was an utter unification of something so much deeper than I could possibly fathom….and it freaked the hell out of me.

My body tensed, and she must have felt it because she tightened her hold on me. I came into her with an intensity that shocked me; I felt like I was drowning in it, my chest constricted and I fought for air. It was actually physically painful, but the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced at the same time.

I really was fucking pathetic.

After a moment to ride out my climax, I practically ripped myself out of her and crashed on the bed beside her to catch my breath.

The whole room was spinning, and I didn't know whether to be sick, or to bask in the euphoric high.

"Are you ok?" I asked her again.

"Yeah," she said quietly, but she didn't sound ok. She closed her legs and then covered herself up with the throw blanket, before rolling over so that her back was towards me.

"Bella," I whispered concerned. I discarded my condom, and then I rolled on my side and draped my arms around her. "Did I hurt you?" I murmured.

She didn't answer.

Fuck.

I pulled the blanket up so I could scoot under with her, and I just held her tightly from behind for what seemed like hours….again, something I never did.

I wasn't one of those cuddling bitches, and the fact that my bare chest was pressed firmly against the skin on her back, was actually very uncomfortable for me.

But it wasn't about me in that moment, she was upset, and I felt like shit.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, but when she didn't move, I realized that she was actually asleep.

I rested my head back down and had a moment of perfect contentment…but then the moment passed and I started over thinking it again.

"What the fuck am I doing?" I muttered to myself. I couldn't stay there and fucking spoon with her, I needed to leave before I completely lost my mind.

Still refusing to look at my bare chest, I slipped on my shirt first and then finished dressing. Before I left, I stopped to look at her one last time…god she was beautiful…and then I started having an attack of conscience over leaving, and I actually had an internal argument with myself over what to do…

_-It would be seriously fucked up if she woke up alone after just losing her virginity._

_-I was not the type of guy who wanted to have a long discussion about 'making love', so there was no way in hell I wanted to wait until she was awake._

_-She looked so peaceful and yet troubled as she slept there naked in her bed, and I wished I could see what she was dreaming._

_-I really wanted a cigarette._

_-I had an overwhelming urge to hold her again, and just breathe in her scent the entire night._

_-I was a fucking pussy._

In the end, my decision was made for me. I heard a buzzing coming from Bella's phone on her nightstand, so I curiously checked to see who it was…

**Bells, I know you're sleeping, but you always like me to let you know when I'm on my way home, so that's what I'm doing. I'll be there in fifteen** – Dad

"Shit," I said quietly after reading the text. Even if the Pastor didn't check on Bella before he went to bed, he would certainly see my car in the driveway.

With having a legitimate reason to leave, I suddenly felt light with relief. I didn't have to stay, and I wasn't a jerk from it because it really wasn't my fault. Still, I hated the idea of her not knowing why I left, so I decided to be a fucking pansy, and leave a note. There was a pad of paper and a pen on her desk, so I used it to write a quick explanation.

_Bella,_

_You looked too beautiful to wake, but I couldn't stay.  
>Your dad texted saying he was on his way home, and<br>I didn't want him to find me here with my car in the driveway._

_I'll see you soon,  
>xEdward<em>

I decided to climb out her window to leave instead of going out the front door, because I hated the idea of leaving her alone with the door unlocked. But as I was about to crawl out, my phone slipped from my pocket to the floor.

I just stared at it for a moment, and then without making a decision to do so, I picked it up, switched on the camera, and pointed it at Bella. I felt like a disgusting freak while I took the picture of her sleeping, but when I really thought about it, that's exactly what I was so there was no point in trying to be anything else.

Good people don't make bets about fucking a pastor's daughter.

Good people don't spend their lives getting high and wishing the world would end.

Good people don't have fathers who tried to kill them.

A good person would have never lied to their little sister - _"It's ok. Bree, look at me," I demanded. "I would never let anything hurt you. You know that right?"_

I wasn't a good person, fucking Bella meant nothing, and I refused to pretend to be anything other than the fuck up that I was any longer….at least now I wouldn't lose my car.

I fucking did it. I won, and that bitch Laurence would never get his greasy hands on my mother's car. Gaining a motorcycle was a plus, but it didn't compare to the relief I felt in that moment.

When I got home that night, I was surprised to see Esme still awake in the living room.

"Hey," she said, surprised to see me walking in at that hour.

"Sorry I'm so late…I had something that I had to take care of," I told her.

She stood and came over until she was within arm's length of me. She stared into my eyes intensely for a minute, and then she smiled and patted my shoulder. "Have a good night."

"Were you seriously just checking to see if I was high?" I asked knowingly.

"Of course not, I trust you Edward," she said unconvincingly.

"Uh huh," I said not believing her, before heading up to my room.

The moment I shut my door behind me, I texted Laurence and didn't even care that it was in the middle of the night.

**Wake up bitch –** E

**Y the fuck would I be sleeping at this hour?** – L

**We need 2 meet and settle this** – E

**Name the time and place** – L

I thought about Esme awake downstairs, and realized the leaving again that night wasn't an option.

**2morrow 9am, docks** – E

**Can't fucking wait. U better not have done something 2 ruin my car, prick** – L

I shook my head. "Keep dreaming, you son of a bitch," I said out loud even though no one was around to hear me.

I laid down to try to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, I just kept picturing Bella's expression as I moved inside her. Had anyone else ever seen that look on her face before? Did she use it to express a wide range of feelings, or was it something that she had unconsciously saved for that event?

I couldn't stop obsessing about her as I replayed ever touch of our time together. It was driving me mad, so I decided to get up and shower, hoping the warm water could relax me, but it didn't really help. I had to be naked in the shower, which basically made me think about Bella even more.

After I dried off, I pulled out my iPod hoping to drown out the sound of her breath in my ear, but every song that came on, I somehow distorted the lyrics so that they pertained to Bella.

I was a fucking nutcase.

The sun eventually rose, and I made my way downstairs right away.

"Well, good morning," Carlisle said enthusiastically. It was six thirty, and everyone else was still sleeping, but Carlisle had to get ready for work.

"Morning," I mumbled.

"Is there a reason that you're up so early?" he asked me curiously. "I'm not used to seeing you before noon."

"Yeah well, I'm meeting my friend at nine…you know, to hang out and stuff," I explained, sounding like an utter idiot.

Carlisle nodded. "Esme said there's a big dance tonight…will you be going?" he asked me.

I seriously wanted to laugh. "Me, go to a fucking…ehum, _freaking_ dance? I don't think so."

"It could be fun. I know the school prepares for the spring dance as much as they do the prom."

I shook my head. "It's not my scene."

"Oh, I see," he said disappointedly.

"Why?" I asked confused by his interest. Carlisle never cared about social events before, so I assumed he had some ulterior motive.

"Well, I don't know if you know this or not, but Alice and Jasper are on a…break, or something. Anyway, she's decided to go with James and I was kind of worried about it."

"Excuse me?" I said shocked. "Alice is going with _who?_"

"Yeah, that was my reaction too. Edward, I know that you've been on the outs with James and Laurence lately, so I'm just a little concerned as to why James would ask Alice out. I tried talking to her about it, but she wouldn't listen. She just kept saying how James has changed and he's trying to straighten out his life. Edward, I trust you, so if you tell me that Alice is safe with James, I'll believe you…but if he could possibly be up to something insincere, I would really appreciate it if you'd keep an eye on them… for me."

All I could think of was the look on James's face when I kissed Vicky in front of him, and I knew Alice had to be a way to get revenge on me. Alice was the closest thing to a sister that I had left, and there was no way in hell I'd let anyone mess with her.

"I'll go," I told him without further explanation.

He lightly placed his hand on my shoulder, and then looked me in the eye and gave me a nod. It was a silent 'thank you', so I replied with a nod of my own. "Call my cell if you need anything," he instructed.

"I will."

It was a strange moment between us; despite all my screw ups, including the one that got my sister killed, he still trusted me to watch out for his daughter. It was an added weight, but one that I swore to myself that I wouldn't fail at.

After Carlisle left, I sat at the kitchen table alone and stared blankly at the picture of Bella on my phone. She must have been awake by then, she must have realized I was gone, and hopefully read my explaining note.

I had to fight the urge to drive over to her house and see how she was doing, but I just couldn't be that guy anymore. I got what I needed, and it had to end before I fucked up her life anymore than I already had. I had to force myself to remember that it was all just an act. She didn't really care about me, she cared about the guy I was pretending to be. It was better to stay away, we both needed to get past it.

Alice was the first to come downstairs for the morning, so I used that time to question her about James.

"So, you're going to the dance with my old friend James, huh?" I asked her as indifferently as I was capable of. I didn't want her to get all defensive, but she did anyway.

"Yeah, how did_ you_ know?" she asked sourly. "James said you two haven't talked for awhile."

"That's true, but it's because he's a prick!" I said, losing my cool.

"_He's_ the prick? Aren't you the one who's been messing around with Bella Swan just to try to win a bet?"

Fuck. James was seriously going to get his ass kicked for telling Alice that.

"Alice look, James is just using you to get to me. He doesn't care about you," I tried convincing her.

"Right, like how you care about Bella?" Alice rebutted.

"Exactly Alice. He doesn't give a shit about you, the way I don't give a shit about her! Hell, you're probably just a fucking bet to him too," I yelled.

She laughed once humorlessly. "Well don't worry about me; at least I know who I'm dealing with. Maybe you should be worrying about yourself, and try to take a good look in the mirror before you continue the path you're going down."

"Whatever….what the hell happened to Jasper, anyway?" I asked her.

"Nothing happened," she said bitterly. "We're just taking time apart. Long distance relationships are difficult you know….oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you've never had a relationship that lasted longer than a few hours at a time."

I glared at her, but then realized that arguing was pointless. I went back up to my room to finish getting ready for the day, and then I headed towards the docks. As much of a prick that I was, I refused to embarrass Bella. I would show Laurence the picture to prove I won the bet, but then it would end. I didn't care about humiliating the Pastor anymore, and displaying the picture at the dance was entirely out of the question.

I just wanted to keep my car.

"Well, you're early," Laurence said with a chuckle when I arrived at the docks. "Eager to hand over your keys?"

"Fuck you," I said calmly. I took out my phone, and pulled up the picture of Bella.

"Oh-ho, don't tell me you actually fucked Bella?" Laurence said with a sinister laugh.

I looked back down at the picture for a long moment, and then I swallowed thickly before putting my phone back in my pocket.

_What the hell are you doing Masen_?

"Here," I said with a broken voice.

Laurence smirked triumphantly, and happily took the keys out of my hands.

"I suppose you need a lift home now?" he said smugly.

"No, I'll walk."

"It's like ten miles," he replied incredulously.

"I don't give a shit," I said defeated, and then turned to begin my long agonizing trek home.

I didn't turn to watch that bastard drive off in my mother's car, I just couldn't; I just kept my head down and walked absently. On top of everything else, it started raining. _Fucking perfect_.

By the time I made it home, I was actually really fucking pissed. I went up to my room, and exploded.

"FUCK!"

I started throwing things around, and trashing anything I could get my hands on. My rage escalated, and just when I was about to throw my fucking phone out the window, I just happened to notice that I had three missed calls…all were from Bella.

She didn't leave any messages, so I really hoped she was ok….but I really didn't care at the same time. Thinking about Bella gave me a fucking headache, which just pissed me off even more.

I wanted to sleep the rest of the day away, but I promised Carlisle that I was going to go to that fucking dance, so that's what I had to do.

I reached under my bed, and took a chug from my bottle of vodka; it was the only way I knew of to calm myself enough to function. I showered quickly, brushed my teeth, threw on a t-shirt and jeans, and then figured I needed to put a suit coat on top, seeing how it was a formal dance and all.

"Um, Esme," I said hesitantly after going downstairs.

"Why Edward, don't you look dashing," she said sweetly. "What can I do for you, honey?"

Sometimes Esme's overly nice attitude was enough to make me want to jump out of a fucking window.

"Um…I sort of…sold my car."

"What?" she said completely shocked.

"Yeah…well, I realized that it harbored too much painful memories, so I thought it would help me to get rid of it."

"Oh…O-kay," she said still in disbelief.

"I promised Carlisle that I would watch out for Alice at the dance tonight, but without my car, I don't have a way to get there."

She smiled. "Here, take mine and we'll see about getting you something else to drive as soon as we can."

"Thanks," I said, and took her keys and then drove to the dance…

I hated fucking high school.

Everything about the place made me angry, and I couldn't wait to graduate, get my inheritance, and move as far away from all those stupid fucking people as possible.

The place was crowded, and to be honest, stunk. I wasn't exactly early, so the dance was in full swing by the time I got there, and I swear the place smelled like sweat and body odor… Of course, it could have just been lingering stench from PE classes held there, seeing how the fucking dance was in the gym.

I tried my best to look for Alice and James, but the room was dark and full of idiots swaying around as if they were in a fucking nightclub. I really felt like jumping up on the stage and yelling into the microphone that they were all pathetic and needed to get fucking lives, but then I decided that since I too had no life, it would have been a little hypocritical.

I started to walk through the crowd to look for Alice better, but then someone stopped me.

"Edward," Bella's soft voice sounded from behind me. I closed my eyes in utter horror from realizing that there was nowhere to escape her.

I turned slowly. "Hi," I said to her quietly. "Sorry…about taking off like that," I mumbled.

"I didn't expect to see you here," she said, ignoring my apology.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here either," I said with a little more bite to my tone than I intended.

"Did I do…_something _wrong, or something? I mean, I tried calling you after I got your note, but…"

"You know, I've actually had a pretty fucked up day, so I'm sorry that I wasn't walking around with my fucking cell phone in my hand waiting for your call," I told her callously. I knew the loss of my car was in no way her fault, but I found myself resenting her anyway.

"What happened?" she asked strongly.

"It doesn't matter," I said and then turned my back to her, and resumed looking for Alice.

"Edward…just tell me to leave, and I will," she said, which actually made me laugh. What the hell did she think I meant by turning away from her? Of course I wanted her to fucking leave me alone, but I was trying like hell to not be as much of a prick as I wanted to be.

"Ok, fine," she said to herself in response to my laugh, and then she started to walk back to her friends.

"Bella wait," I said while turning back and grabbing her arm to stop her.

"Edward, you don't have to…" she couldn't finish her sentence, because my lips crashed down on hers with a fierceness.

I was vaguely aware that people were watching us, but I really didn't care. I held her against me, and she tangled her hands in my hair…it was fucking nirvana compared to the rest of my day. The whole room disappeared, and Bella and I were alone in our amazing make out session, but after the third or fourth throat clearing, Bella pulled away.

Before even having a chance to see the people standing around us, I grabbed her hand and weaved my fingers with hers. In that moment, Bella's grasp on my hand was the only thing keeping me from literally punching random people on the dance floor.

"You know Edward, it's too late. You had three months but you lost the bet, so getting Bella to fuck you now is pointless," Laurence said abruptly, making the room suddenly seem silent.

I felt like the entire world stopped spinning, and everything came crashing down at the same time. All my fucking confusion towards Bella, all of my hate for Laurence, everything that went into losing my car, it all came tumbling down in that moment.

I kept Bella's hand firmly in mine, but I could feel her grip on me loosen.

Fuck.

Her breathing rate started increasing, and the hurt was radiating off of her like a nuclear bomb.

"Oh, don't be too upset by it Bella, it's not like you actually let him fuck you," Laurence said with a laugh as he walked away.

"Whoa," someone said, and that's when I noticed that there was a crowd of people watching us.

"Ouch," another person said.

"Who knew the preacher's daughter liked to get her freak on!" someone else yelled from further back.

We didn't confirm that we had actually slept together, there were no pictures displayed and absolutely no proof, but high school teens never needed to be sure of something in order for gossip to spread. And the fact that people had just seen us making out, just added to it.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I could feel Bella's intense glare on my face, so I turned my head to look at her.

"Is it true?" she asked me sadly.

"Bella, let's go somewhere to talk about this," I told her quietly, trying to make it so no one else could hear.

Her face distorted into pure anger, and she ripped her hand away from mine. "Is it?" she asked again, ignoring my suggestion. "IS IT? Am I a bet, am I A FUCKING BET?" she screamed, sending sharp jolts right to my gut.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

She shook her head incredulously. "You bastard," she said brokenly, before running out of the gym.

* * *

><p><strong>***Oh my, where do we go from here?<strong>

**Yes, Edward did wear a condom…so what does that mean for the story? Hmmm. **

**Please leave me your thoughts, and review. **


	8. Changes

**Unintended **

A/N: So it seems I've confused some people. Yes the summary said 'a meaningless night for him' which isn't exactly true, but it'll be what everyone else thinks happened, as well as himself, because he's in denial about his feelings.

**As with my last A/N, what's ahead is spolierish- not much, but some might not care, so feel free to skip it and begin with the chapter.

_As far as my second banner is concerned, I called it the 'second part' because by the time we reach what's shown there, it'll have a slightly different feel and you'll understand then what I mean. I posted it already because I want people to have a chance to back out now if they don't like where this is headed. I hate wasting my time with a story when it ends in a way that I don't like, so I wanted to give you that option. HEA still ahead, I promise._

_I hope everyone will continue with me into the second half of this story, but I will wrap the first half in a pretty (albeit unhappy) bow for you in case you don't want to follow past high school._

* * *

><p>~Chapter 8 – <em>Changes<em>~

_Her face distorted into pure anger, and she ripped her hand away from mine. "Is it?" she asked again, ignoring my suggestion. "IS IT? Am I a bet, am I A FUCKING BET?" she screamed, sending sharp jolts right to my gut._

"_I'm sorry," I whispered._

_She shook her head incredulously. "You bastard," she said brokenly, before running out of the gym._

I didn't know what to do, the whole thing knocked me into an unfeeling daze and I actually forgot where I was for a few minutes.

"Edward!" I heard. Someone's yelling finally knocked me out of it, and I looked towards the voice.

"What?" I asked her angrily.

"Go after her, idiot," Alice said forcefully. I stared blankly at Alice for a minute; it was like she was speaking a foreign language and I didn't understand a word of it. She was standing next to James, who had a pretty fucking terrified expression plastered on his face; the little shit knew I was going to kick his ass, it was only a matter of when.

But I didn't feel like fighting in that moment; not James, not Laurence, and especially not _for_ Bella. She had every right to hate me, and I was going to do everything possible to let her.

I took a step closer to James, and threatened him quietly.

"If you touch her in any way more than casually, I swear to god, I'll fucking kill you. She better be brought home immediately after the dance, or I'll find you," I told him before leaving the gym. I felt bad for not following through on my promise to Carlisle, but I couldn't stay at that fucking dance, even to watch Alice. I never cared about people's angry stares before, it was the sorrow filled ones that I hated, and now everyone had them for Bella, and it was my fault.

I got into Esme's car and just drove. I drove for what felt like hours, until I realized that I had nowhere to go. If I didn't head back soon, the car would run out of gas and I didn't have any money to fill it. I had no choice but to go back. I never cared about anyone in that fucking town, and the dance's events didn't change that. I still had the same ultimate goal; make it through high school, inherited all my dad's money, and then leave everything else behind. I wouldn't even look in the rearview mirror on my way out of town. There was nothing there for me, and I couldn't wait to be done with it once and for all.

When I got home, I waited on the front porch for Alice to be returned safely and on time. I didn't necessarily plan on kicking James's ass right then, but if he so much as looked at me wrong, I wouldn't hesitate.

His car pulled up promptly at ten fifty pm, and since I knew the dance was over at ten thirty, I figured with driving time, that it was acceptable.

I glared at James through the windshield, and he looked terrified back. Needless to say, he didn't get out. The moment Alice was away from the car, James sped away like the pansy he was. Fucking idiot.

Alice walked slowly towards me, and then surprised me by sitting next to me on the bench.

"So…" she said suggestively.

"So, what?" I asked annoyed.

"So…do you want to tell me what happened back there?"

"You already know what happened," I said through gritted teeth. "I already admitted it to you this morning; I made a bet to fuck Bella Swan. Of course, I wasn't expecting Laurence to out me like that, but it was still all true."

"Yeah, I got all of that, but what I don't understand is why you just stood there like a moron, when you should have charged out of there after Bella."

"What good would that have done? I couldn't deny the bet, so what would be the fucking point?" I asked sourly.

"Well, you could have apologized. Tell her you were a jerk, and then get down on your knees and beg for her forgiveness," she said in a sickly sweet tone.

"Now, why in hell would I do that?"

"Because, you love her," she said unexpectedly.

I laughed once at the thought. "Alice, I told you to not smoke anything James offered you."

"I'm _not_ high," she said sternly. "That's what _you_ do, not me. Look, I was really pissed when James told me about the bet. I almost marched over to Bella's house to tell her everything myself, but then I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. I still believe that you're really a good guy buried deep under all that pain and anger, and I was really hoping that you would have put an end to the whole mess yourself. But…"

"But what?" I asked.

"But I saw the look on your face when the truth came out… Edward, I haven't seen that expression on you since the day of your family's memorial service."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," I said bitterly.

"Yes, I do. You love her, and you were really upset and hurt by the way everything went down tonight."

"Think what you want, but I don't give a shit….I don't give a shit about anything, or _anyone_," I told her before getting up and going inside.

"You're only hurting yourself!" she called after me.

I stormed up to my room, where I fully planned on hibernating until spring break ended the following week…. but of course, I couldn't sleep. I took out my bottle of vodka and chugged what was left, before sneaking down to the kitchen to get some more. I went into Carlisle's liquor cabinet, and took three bottles of whatever, and then took them back upstairs to drown myself into a stupor.

I vaguely remembered people knocking on my door from time to time, and Carlisle may have even come in to check my pulse. I heard clinking of bottles, so obviously whoever was in my room had taken away the evidence of my binge, which kind of pissed me off.

I got up to use the bathroom from time to time, snuck to the kitchen in the middle of the night to get food and more alcohol, but other than that, I didn't remember much from that week. I lost track of time and didn't know what day it was, but suddenly I was hit in the face with a flood of icy cold water.

"What the Fuck?" I yelled while jumping up.

"Good morning, princess," Emmett said with a sinister grin.

"Dude, seriously?" I asked angrily. "_Oh_…my fucking head is pounding," I admitted.

"Really?" Emmett said amused, then he grabbed something from the side of the bed, which may or may not have been pot and pan lids, and then proceeded to bang them together as if they were fucking crash cymbals.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him irately. "Shouldn't you be like…away at college…like…_away_?" I asked sourly.

"My spring break is longer than yours, dipshit. And now, yours is over, so go shower and get ready. I will be escorting you to and from school for the next week," he said with a smile.

"Like hell," I said before stumbling over to the bathroom.

"You can hate it all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that you don't have a car, and from what I hear, you don't have any lackeys left to chauffeur your ass either."

"So what, I'm not going into school today anyway… is spring break really over?" I asked surprised and confused.

He laughed. "Yeah, you practically fucking slept through most of it… Man, you swiped Carlisle's good alcohol and he was fucking heated. He was like 'is that kid dead up there, if not, I'm going to kill him'," Emmett said while laughing.

"Whatever, I don't give a shit," I told him while crawling back into bed, despite the fact that I and it were soaking wet.

"Dude, I thought all you cared about was that inheritance of yours," Emmett reminded me.

"Fuck," I said while rolling back out of bed. I couldn't fall behind anymore than I already was, I had to graduate.

I went into my closet and changed my clothes, but didn't bother showering before going downstairs to meet Emmett.

"Damn, you stink like a fucking homeless one legged prostitute on a drug binge," he said while plugging his nose.

"Ah man, do you think people will come up to me and ask for a fuck?" I asked mockingly. "Cause as much as I need the cash, I'm just not into screwing for money."

"When the hell are you going to grow up and stop being such a moron all the time?" he asked me seriously.

"Well, a moron is just what I am, it's got nothing to do with growing up," I told him lightly.

He shook his head at me, but gave no other response. We drove to school in silence, and when he pulled up, I got out of his car without saying thanks. It may have been rude, but I really didn't care; I didn't care about anything.

As I walked through campus, I definitely got a bunch of dirty looks from just about everyone who passed me, but anytime I looked back at them, they were always the first to back down. Everyone at that fucking school were all pussies.

At lunch I smoked a cigarette behind the cafeteria, and I decided to ditch Bio that day. Since I was partners with Bella for awhile, my grade in that class was actually decent, so missing a few days wouldn't hurt.

School dragged on, but when it was finally over, I almost dreaded going home more.

"Carlisle will be home for dinner tonight," Emmett said with a laugh when I got in his car.

"Wonderful, can't wait," I said sarcastically.

"Man, I'm glad I'm home for this…I can't wait until he lays into you for stealing all his alcohol."

"Emmett, just because you're scared of Carlisle, doesn't mean I am," I told him unfazed.

"I'm not afraid of Carlisle, I just know how pissed he was," he said with a laugh.

When we got to the house, Emmett watched flabbergasted as I walked straight over to Carlisle's liquor cabinet.

"Dude, you are seriously asking for it," he warned.

"I'm fucking terrified," I said emotionlessly. I reached up and pulled on the handle….but it wouldn't open. "What the fuck?" I asked.

Emmett started laughing again. "Think what you want about Carlisle, but the man isn't stupid."

"Fuck!" I yelled to myself. I thought about breaking the lock, but the thought of working so hard for something just wasn't interesting to me, so I went up to my room and awaited my sentencing.

A few hours later, Carlisle came right into my room without even fucking knocking.

"Do we need to take the door away again?" he asked me.

"Go ahead, you'll just give it back to me in a few days anyway," I said carelessly.

"I'm not buying you a new car, and I want the money you got from selling the Volvo," he said unexpectedly.

"What? I'm not giving you my fucking money," I told him angrily.

"Technically, the car was mine until you graduate, and since you sold it without my permission, I'm going to need the money."

"Fuck you," I told him bitterly.

"Edward, if I have to turn this room upside down to get it, I will," he threatened.

"I don't have the fucking money!" I yelled.

"Why not?" he asked strongly.

"I didn't sell it, I just gave it away," I told him.

"Edward, there is no way in hell I'm going to allow you to keep the amount of money that the car would have gotten you. You are irresponsible, and I refuse to allow you throw your life away on the drugs and booze that I'm sure you're planning on buying with it. So hand it over," he said sternly, not believing my story.

"Well, you're too late. I used that money to buy me and my friends all the shit I could get. We fucking spent the entire night of the dance snorting and smoking it all away. But, search my room if you want, you won't find anything."

"Edward…I really don't know what to do with you anymore. I don't know how to get through to you; I'm at my wits end. Please, just tell me what to do, help me…"

"Oh don't give me that 'help me, help you' bullshit!" I interrupted him. "I'm not Emmett; you can't buy my fucking submission. If you really can't _handle_ me anymore, then give me my fucking inheritance and let me leave."

"No."

"Fine, then leave me the hell alone."

"I can't leave you alone, Edward. Something has to change, and I'm going to keep trying different tactics until I find one that works," he said before getting up and walking out of my room.

I shook my head, and reached for my last bottle of stashed ale under my bed.

…..

Emmett continued to dive me to and from school, and I carelessly walked through my days in a haze. But by the third day of ditching Bio, I knew I couldn't miss anymore, so I went to class.

I got there early, and didn't look up when Bella came into the room; I only knew she was there because the unmistakable scent of her strawberry shampoo filled my airway. When the period was over however, I left just as I had come, quiet and quick. I wouldn't contact Bella in anyway, and I was sure she'd never talk to me again, but it was better that way. She didn't need a fuckup like me in her life; I'd only bring her down with me.

As the days went on, nothing changed except my ride. The Cullens refused to buy me another car, so after Emmett went back to his school, I was basically at the mercy of Esme and Alice, which fucking sucked.

I really didn't mind being alone at school, especially since the year was almost over, but my solitude didn't last for long. Every day I'd smoke through break and lunch, and eventually a couple fellow school outcasts began joining me. We didn't speak at first and I only allowed them to stay because they always brought the cigs, but after two weeks, one of them started making small talk.

"So…you need help jumping Laurence?" one of them asked me casually. Ok, so it wasn't exactly 'small talk' but it was the most casual conversation I had in weeks.

"And, why would you help me?" I questioned.

He shrugged. "What else is there to do?" he said emotionlessly.

"Wow, you are fucking insane," I told him seriously. The guy had absolutely no life in his eyes, and the way he spoke so emotionlessly actually gave me fucking chills. _Was this the type of person I was attracting these days? Fuck._

"Yeah, I've been told that a few times," he said unfazed.

I nodded absently. "Yeah, I can see that. What did you say your name was again?"

"Caius," he said while putting his hand out for me to shake.

"Edward," I introduced myself.

"I know who you are…everyone in this fucking town knows who you are," he said with a laugh.

"Yeah, so how come I don't know you?" I asked him.

"I just moved here last month from Volterra," he said cryptically.

"The fucking medieval town in Italy?" I questioned incredulously.

"No, it's a section of Little Italy in New York…Really hardcore."

"Right," I said mockingly. "And who the hell are you?" I asked the other guy with us.

"Garrett," he said quietly.

"Are you a fucking fag?" Caius asked him shamelessly.

"No," Garrett said defensively.

"Wait, you two aren't friends?" I asked them surprised. They both started hanging with me around the same time, so I always assumed they had come together.

"I don't know that bitch," Caius said quickly.

"Ok, here's how this is going to go down, both of you are going to fucking listen to me, and do whatever the hell I tell you. Understand?" I told them strongly. If I was going to have new lackeys, I might as well start off on the right foot.

"What? And who the hell do you think you are?" Caius asked defiantly.

"I'm the guy who you've been following around like a fucking lost puppy for weeks," I told him and then gave him my intimidating look that always made James piss his pants.

"Fine. I'm on your turf, so I'll play by your rules," he conceded. Fucking pussy.

"So, you'll let me hang with you?" Garrett asked nervously.

"Yeah, but you got to toughen up a bit," I warned him. "I can't have anyone weak hanging with me."

He nodded. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"Hey, what the fuck did I just tell you?" I asked him irritated.

"Sorry," he said, and then thought better of his apology. "Damn right you're going to let me hang," he said pathetically, but at least it was better than all that sissy shit.

Neither were as cool as James and Laurence, but they weren't as pathetic either…well, I guess they were, but they were the best I was gonna get. If I wanted a way to keep people scared shitless of me enough to leave me the hell alone, I'd need lackeys.

Over the next couple of weeks, I and my new followers made ourselves known on campus. We stopped hiding behind the cafeteria, and because it was me, people were fucking scared. Before I knew it, other guys started following us as well, and we had quite a posse going. They were all losers, of course, but people got out of our fucking way when we walked through school, which was exactly what I was going for. On the weekends, we could always count on someone bringing some weed or beers to waste our time away with, but then started the delinquency talk.

I did drugs and such with my old friends, but the guys I was currently hanging with were into a whole lot of hard shit.

"Hey, you ever hold up a liquor store?" Caius asked me like a fucking wannabe gangster.

"Uh… no. This aint New York, there's no robberies that people can get away with around here," I told him slightly disturbed by the thought. I was a stoner loser, but I wasn't a fucking criminal.

"Too bad… well, we can go up to Seattle then for the weekend, and make some quick cash," he suggested.

"Uh… I don't think that's such a good idea," Garrett said anxiously.

"Man, I told you to stop being such a fucking pussy," Caius warned him.

"Hey, shut the hell up!" I warned Caius. "Just because he's not an idiot, doesn't make him a fucking pussy," I said strongly.

"Man, I don't know who you think you are, but I run this shit, and what I say, goes," Caius stood and staid aggressively.

"Excuse me?" I said and stood to match his stance.

"What? You think all these boys are here cause of you? Hell no, they're here because I told them to be here. I only let you pretend to be the fucking head."

"Right, well, we'll see about that," I told him agitated. I began walking away, but only three of the ten guys who had been hanging with us followed. "Whatever," I said annoyed, and then continued on my way.

So basically, there was Laurence's group, which included James and some other guy, then there was Caius's group of seven, and my small pathetic group of four…including myself. Of course, there was the cliché high school jocks, chess team, and so on and so forth, but only Caius's group was of any threat to me. _Not that I was threatened, or anything_.

But before I knew it, the end of the school year had arrived and I was free for two fucking months. Esme got a summer job of some sort, and wasn't around to keep tabs on me, so I basically did whatever the hell I wanted. Slept all day, got stoned or drunk whenever I wanted, and pretty much wasted the entire summer away. Garrett had a car, so he was my new ride, and the other two guys that hung with us, Peter and Randall, were always there incase Garrett was busy. None of them had fucking lives, so it was rare when I couldn't find someone to hang with. _Not that I wanted to hang with anyone_.

When August rolled back around, I figured nothing would change. I was finally a senior, but that was the only difference I could possibly imagine happening.

"Damn, did you see Bella Swan this year?" Randall asked me at first break.

"No. Why the hell would I have seen her?" I asked angrily. I was lucky enough to not have been subjected to any classes with Bella that semester, so I was seriously pissed that one of my new followers had brought her up.

"Damn, sensitive much?" Peter asked me teasingly.

"Shut the fuck up. Who asked you to speak?" I asked hostilely.

"Look, all I meant was the fact that the chick has seriously put on some weight," Peter said defensively. I just glared at him, so he continued. "I mean, she's filled out in all the right places….I mean, she looks good….I mean, she's just not a skinny rail anymore….I mean…."

"Yeah, I got it. Shut the fuck up about Bella Swan," I told him. He knew the rumors about her and I from the spring dance, everyone did, so he knew why I was fucking pissed at him for bringing her up.

"Sorry," he said pathetically.

That day at lunch, I decided to brave the throngs of lame and/or obese teens, to get something to eat in the cafeteria. Carlisle still didn't allow me to have any money, so basically, if I didn't eat my prepaid meals there, I didn't eat; which usually wasn't a problem but with all the pot I had been smoking that morning, I was fucking starved.

"This is a fucking nightmare," Randall said as we walked into the room.

"Yeah, so let's get our fucking food and then leave," I told them.

"Uh…I only get free lunch," Garrett said embarrassed.

"Ah Gar, is that why you're such a weirdo, you're fucking poor?" Peter asked cruelly.

"Don't worry about it, I'll get the salad bar and get you whatever you want," I told him.

"Thanks man," he said gratefully.

After we all got our food, we started walking outside but then realized that it was pouring, so we settled on a table in the far corner of the room. That's what sucked about living in Washington during the early fall, it fucking stormed every day which meant that the entire student body was inside during the lunch hour. Rain and cloud cover was an almost constant in the Pacific Northwest, but most of the time it was tolerable, during the fall however, it was fucking impossible to hang be out and smoke. And I really wanted a fucking cigarette.

"Well, who dragged the garbage in?" Laurence said as he walked past us.

"Fuck you," I said casually. I still owed him a beat down, and I would definitely deliver at some point. I often wondered what the hell I was waiting for when it came to my payback for him, but whenever I got close to wanting to do it, I always came up with a reason to push it off. I wasn't afraid of him whatsoever, and I knew I would win, but I just never felt like it. Even when seeing him around town driving my mother's car, I just couldn't relight the fire that always made me quick to fight people. I felt hallow all the time.

"Hey baby, you can come over here anytime," Randall said flirtatious.

I glanced up to see Bella Swan standing in front of our table, looking…annoyed.

"I need to talk to you," she told me coldly.

She had to be fucking kidding, because there was no way in hell she would ever want to be in my presence again. Randall was right about her though, she had definitely filled out over the summer, but it didn't change her looks. She was beautiful before, just like she was beautiful now.

"Uh…sorry, we don't have any classes together anymore, so you can't use me for my popularity again," I said like a fucking idiot. What the hell was I talking about anyway?

"Whatever," she said under her breath. "I've been looking for you all week," she told me.

I had managed to avoid her all summer and for the first week of school, but her seeking me out was definitely a shock.

"Why the hell would _you_ be looking for me?" I asked callously.

'_You love her'_ – Alice's pixie voice sounded in my head, but I shook it out and tried to ignore it. Alice had no idea what the hell she was talking about.

"We really need to talk," she said quietly.

"I doubt that," I said with a laugh.

"Edward, please. It's important," she said in a hushed voice, despite the fact that my friends could obviously still hear her.

"Look, whatever you have to say, you can say right here," I said arrogantly.

'_You love her'_ – Alice's words came into my mind again, except this time, my own mental voice told Alice's voice to _'shut the hell up!'_

"Look, I've spent the last four and a half months in hell, and the least you can do is listen to me," she said strongly.

"Wow, did you miss me that much?" I asked with a laugh.

Bella huffed, crossed her arms and then glared at me. I was sure she was going to give up and just walk away at that point, but she didn't. "I'm pregnant," she said taking me off guard.

"Excuse me?" I said perplexed.

I was positive I had to have heard her wrong, but then she repeated herself. "I'm pregnant."

I stared at her dumbfounded. I had to be in some sort of horrific nightmare, because I knew for a fact that reality wasn't so fucked up….except with a father like mine, I knew better than anyone how fucked up life really was. I had no idea how long I stared at her for, but snickering from bystanders knocked me out of my daze.

"So, why the fuck are you telling me?" I asked her like the jackass I was.

She looked stunned by my question. "Uh, I don't know, maybe because you're the father," she told me bitterly.

"The fuck I am," I told her. "I was only with you one time, and I fucking used a condom."

"Ooo, Bella Swan is a ho!" someone yelled.

She was either oblivious to all the laughing and joking going on around us, or she just didn't care, because she continued on as if we were alone.

"I don't know what happened and I was in denial for months, but I can't hide it anymore," she said suggestively while pointing to her baggy sweatshirt clad stomach.

"Right, I'll tell you what happened. I fucked you, you realized how much you liked it, and then because I wouldn't touch you again, you went elsewhere and got yourself knocked up. Sorry, but this isn't my problem," I told her cruelly.

I had never regretted anything that came out of my mouth more, than I did at that comment. It had to be one of the meanest things I had ever said, but for the life of me, I couldn't force myself to take it back.

I knew Bella wasn't a liar, and I knew for a fact that she wasn't a slut, but I just couldn't accept what she was telling me. If I thought Bella looked hurt at the dance after learning about the bet, I was wrong, because the level of hurt that plagued her perfect face right then was immeasurable.

"Hey Bella, since you're already knocked up, can I fuck you?" some little shit called out. "We can go bareback!"

Bella's breathing hitched as she waited for me to show any glimpse of humanity, but I didn't. I just stood there and challenged her to continue.

She finally broke and shook her head slightly, before turning and walking out of the cafeteria.

Fuck.

* * *

><p><strong>*****And welcome back Edward, the biggest jackass prick in the world. Lol<strong>

**Please Review**


	9. Not That Guy

**Unintended**

~Chapter 9 – _Not That Guy_~

I couldn't stay in school, not after that, so I went to the nurse's office and told Esme that I was sick and needed to go home…it wasn't a lie. I was sick, everything inside me felt like it wanted to come out forcefully and I was literally holding it in with every last ounce of energy I had.

What the hell did I do?

I've hated myself since the day that I broke my promise and failed to save Bree, but I never expected this. Yes, I deserved hell for the things I had done, but how was continuing my DNA going to solve anything? What the hell kind of fucked up higher power would trust a baby with me anyway?

After Esme dropped me off at home, I did what I always did when life got too hard, I zoned out and went for some narcotics…I only wished I had some. I thought briefly about drinking the alcohol based mouthwash in my bathroom, but the thought actually made my already turning stomach erupt. I ran to the bathroom and puked violently.

What the fuck was I going to do?

On top of being scared shitless, I was fucking pissed. I did what they had been spewing at us for years; I wore a fucking condom, so how the hell did Bella get pregnant? Even if we were to go without one, there was only a twenty five percent chance of getting a chick knocked up, which meant that for whatever reason, she got pregnant through the condom and against the odds, I just had no idea what the hell for. What could anyone possibly gain from this, and I wondered what Bella's perfect faith said about it all.

"Time for school," Esme said the next morning.

"I can't, I'm still sick," I told her like the pathetic coward I was.

"Oh," she said concerned while walking over to me. She placed one of her hands over my forehead and then sighed. "You don't feel warm. Are you sure you're not feeling well?" she asked.

I had never faked sick before, so she believed me when I said "yes."

I spent the next day home 'sick' as well, and then thankfully, it was the weekend.

But when Saturday rolled around, everything changed again.

"So, mom said you were sick, are you feeling any better?" Emmett asked concerned that morning. I was still in my room and he had come up to 'talk'.

"Well, I've been better," I said while getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

After I pissed, I came out and was surprised to see Emmett still there.

"What do you want?" I asked annoyed because he was sitting on my bed, which I wanted to be back laying in.

"So, you _are_ feeling better?" he asked strangely.

"Uh…" I knew I couldn't fake sick for much longer, because if I did, they would take me into the hospital and shit like that. I needed to go out with my friends and get wasted for the weekend, so I decided that it was time for my illness to be over. "Yeah, I am feeling better."

He nodded absently. "Good," he said calmly, and then stood up before abruptly throwing his left hook hard into my eye.

"Shit!" I said as the pain consumed me. I was on the ground and had to fight the urge to cry like baby. With all the fights I had been in, I always had the upper-hand and the adrenalin made whatever blows I did get painless, but being caught off guard like that hurt like hell…and Emmett was one fucking strong son of a bitch.

I didn't know why he hit me, but I was pissed. I recovered myself, and charged him, but Emmett had me back on the ground before I knew what happened.

"Man, what the fuck?" I asked as he held me down.

"Think real hard," he demanded. "Now, why would I be kicking your ass right now?"

"I can't think, it fucking hurts to think," I whined like a little girl.

"I warned you not to mess with the pastor's daughter," he said aggressively.

Fuck. Did they all fucking know…what the hell?

As if he was anticipating my bewilderment, he explained. "Pastor Swan is downstairs speaking with mom and Carlisle as we speak, dipshit. Man, I knew you were an idiot, but I never thought you'd stoop this low."

Emmett got off me and then walked out of the room, and I seriously wished my father had killed me when he tried.

My face felt like it was broken and every inch of my body hurt, but I just sat there while I awaited whatever sentencing Carlisle was going to give me for my latest fuckup. Two hours later, I heard a low rumble, so I looked out my window and gratefully saw the pastor's car pulling out of the driveway.

But then I heard two sets of angry feet come storming up the stairs towards me.

Shit.

Carlisle threw the door open, and he and Esme just glared at me for an endless moment.

"Why?" was all Carlisle asked me.

I seriously considered coming up with some snide remark, but the expression on his face made me reconsider. I knew they knew, and they knew that I knew they knew….or some confusing shit like that. There was no point in denying it.

"Bella Swan is pregnant," I said quietly.

"And?" Esme prompted me to continue.

"And…" fuck, it was a difficult thing to say. "And it's mine," I finally admitted.

"How could you do that?" Esme asked with tears rolling down her face. "How could you corrupt that sweet girl like that?"

"It was a bet," I said emotionlessly.

"A bet?" Esme asked horrified.

"I wore protection," I told them, as if that was supposed to make it any better.

Carlisle was surprisingly quiet…too quiet. He had that same intensely calm look on his face that my father had right before he killed my sister, and to be honest, it terrified the shit out of me.

"I…I…I…" I couldn't find any words, all I could think of was Carlisle snapping and killing everyone, and I actually started trembling from the thought.

"Edward, she's the pastor's daughter and now she's a pregnant teenager. You have to see what this all means?" Esme asked a little softer. But I couldn't focus on her, I was locked in Carlisle's deadly glare, and a part of me wished he'd just get it over with. Dying would have been so much easier…but would Carlisle be so kind as to kill us all humanly, or would he make it slow and let us suffer? I supposed I deserved to suffer, but that didn't make the prospect any less terrifying.

"Edward," Carlisle said suddenly. "I'm not going to hurt you," he told me sternly but softly at the same time. He must have seen the fear in my eyes and understood, but that didn't mean that I believed him.

I was sitting on the floor, and he was towered over me, so he kneeled down so he was on a less threatening level.

"It's time to grow up, Edward. Bella is four and a half months along, and that baby is coming whether you like it or not. I have no idea how she managed to hide it from her father for so long, but he just found out last night and came right over here this morning to tell us. We talked about it for a couple hours, and we've decided that the only option is for you to…marry Bella."

_Huh?_

I definitely was not expecting that. All my fear of Carlisle morphed into a different kind of fear. What the hell were they thinking?

"Marry her?" I asked in disbelief. "Are you all nuts?"

"Like I said, it's time to grow up," Carlisle reiterated.

"Uh…did you consider the possibility that I'm not exactly marriage or parent material?" I asked incredulously.

"Baptism by fire, sink or swim. That baby deserves to have a chance at having its parents together, and you're going to give that to it," Carlisle replied.

"Seriously? I mean come on, this isn't the eighteen hundreds, and people don't have to get married just because the chick is knocked up. It's not my fault her dad is a pastor," I told them bitterly.

"No, but everything else _is _your fault," Carlisle said quickly. "What did you think was going to happen? Bella was going to have to take care of everything, and your life would continue as if nothing's different?"

"We're seventeen years old, she should have gotten an abortion," I said heartlessly. "But I guess it's too late for that, so if she really wants to do right about the thing, she'd put it up for adoption."

"Edward," Esme said sadly with more tears.

"What? Really Esme, you think any kid deserves a guy like me in their life? I mean come on, this is ridiculous and I'm not going to do it."

"Yes, you are," Carlisle said sternly. "Tomorrow morning, you are coming with us to church and afterwards, you will marry Bella. Charlie is getting all the legal documents together; since he's a pastor he can get the licenses quicker. He already had the papers for us to sign allowing the marriage since you're minors, and we have."

"You already signed your rights away from me? Cool; that means I can leave then, right?" I asked mockingly.

"No, what it means is that you have our permission to marry. This baby is going to need a lot of things, so I will be contacting my lawyer about giving the two of you an allowance from your inheritance to pay for baby expenses. That way, you can still finish school, and not have to work until you graduate. I just don't see how you two will be able to go to school, raise a baby, and work, so I've just eliminated the 'work' aspect and the rest is up to you," Carlisle explained.

"Wait a minute. I'm not going to dip into my inheritance for this," I said assuredly.

"Oh, yes you are. And from now on, it's not just _your _inheritance anymore, its Bella's and your baby's too. Whatever plans you had for that money before, are all out the window because now you have a family to take care of."

"There's no way in hell," I protested. He couldn't make me do anything, and he knew it. "As soon as I graduate, I'm taking my money and leaving town…"

"_Before_ you graduate, you'll be a father; the baby is due in late December. And you won't see a dime of that money because if you don't marry Bella, I will withhold it from you," Carlisle threatened.

"You have got to be kidding," I said as I laid back onto the floor. "Damn it Carlisle, there are already enough stipulations on my inheritance, don't you think?"

"Well, that's the beauty of being the executor, I can do what I want," Carlisle said smugly.

"That's not true, I mean it can't be. There has to be a law against you withholding what's rightfully mine, right?" I asked, mostly to myself.

"Sure there is, but your father specifically gave me all rights and decision making when it comes to his estate. What I say goes, and if you want control of your father's assets, you will marry Bella and take care of your child."

"Once I graduate and you sign everything over to me, you won't have any say anymore. I can divorce Bella then and move on with the life I've been planning, and you won't be able to do anything about it," I said an arrogant smile.

"Yes, that's true," he said disappointedly. "I'm hoping you'll wise up by then though, but if you don't then as your wife, Bella is entitled to half of everything, and on top of that, you'll have to pay child support for the next eighteen years," he told me with a cocky smile of his own.

"Fuck," I said heatedly. Carlisle had me against a brick fucking wall, and he knew it. Bastard. There was nothing I could do, I screwed up and the best I could hope for was half of my inheritance with a monthly payout to Bella Swan. "Damn it!" I yelled.

"Get this room picked up, Bella will be moving in here with you," Esme informed me as they were on their way out.

"What the hell?" I asked exasperated. "Why?"

"She'll be your wife as of tomorrow, and the pastor would feel more comfortable with all of us around to keep tabs on you. He's just not home enough for you guys to live there," she said. "Besides, I'm sure your room is bigger than hers in that small house, and you'll need the space for the cradle."

"A fucking cradle?" I whined. "Esme, I'm not _that_ guy, I can't so this."

"Well, you're going to have to!" she shouted angrily, before storming out of the room.

"As of this moment," Carlisle added. "Your old life is over. All the shit you did and all of your delinquent friends are history. Now, your life is Bella and that baby, and you better do whatever possible to make her feel comfortable and welcomed here. Do you understand me?" he said firmly.

"And what if I don't?" I asked defiantly. "You can't force someone to get married."

"FINE!" he exploded. "Then get the hell out of my house, and don't come back. I'm tired of your shit, Edward. I promised myself that I'd never give up on you, but you've crossed the line this time. The streets are a hard place to survive, but if anyone can do it, I know it's you. So, get the fuck out!"

I was absolutely shocked by his outburst. Carlisle was the king of cool and collected, but I guess everyone has their breaking points. Carlisle chose to kick me out instead of killing me, which I guess was a good thing, but I seriously wished for the opposite. Death would have been seriously easier.

"Fine," I said quietly before grabbing my coat and walking out of his house.

I just walked in a daze for hours, and when I couldn't walk anymore, I found a bench and just sat there for the rest of the day. The sun set, it was raining and fucking freezing, but I stayed on that bench all night long and tried to consider my options.

I had no money, no clothes, no food, and nowhere to go. Being homeless fucking sucked. I had no options, so I decided on the only thing that was reasonable; marry Bella now, graduate, and then we could divorce and I'd be on my own way. Sure, my inheritance would be cut drastically, but even so, it was better than nothing. It should still be enough to get me started, until I could get my own place and a job.

I could play the part; I had been playing a fucking part since my family was killed, so this would be no different. Just because I was technically about to be married, didn't mean anything really had to change. School wouldn't be any different, and I could sleep on the floor in my room if I had to…. I could do it, I knew I could.

I just so happened to have my cell phone in my coat pocket, so I called Garrett to come pick me up.

"You're really going to get married?" he asked incredulously. I wasn't sure why I told him, but I'd be damned if I let him tell anyone else.

"I don't really have a choice. I just need to get through this school year, and then I'm gone….you better not open your mouth about this shit to anyone," I warned him.

"I won't," he said quickly, and for whatever reason, I believed him. Garrett wasn't like most of the other guys I had hung with, he was legitimately a nice guy and I suddenly felt sorry about being mean to him all the time.

Garrett took me to his place to get cleaned up, but when I got there, I felt even worse about his situation. His house was tiny, and everything was a mess or broken. He lived in the poorest neighborhood in Forks, and it was obvious that he had a rough life. No one was home, so after I showered - with cold water, Garrett offered me some clothes. He was a little shorter and smaller than me so the pants didn't fit, but I did use the polo shirt he offered.

"How do I look?" I asked him pathetically, not that I cared.

"Like shit," he said honestly.

I nodded. "Thanks."

"Yeah well, that black eye doesn't help," he told me.

"I know," I agreed. _Fucking Emmett_.

Garrett drove me to church, but it was already in the middle of the sermon, so we just sat in the back quietly. Garrett wasn't technically a member, but he sat there with me anyway. He really was a good guy, and I promised myself to be nicer to him in the future.

When it was over, everyone started filing out, but Garrett and I didn't move. We just sat there and waited for the Cullens to pass so I could talk to them.

"Well, look who grew a brain," Emmett said when he spotted me.

Esme sighed, and then grabbed Alice and Emmett by their arms before escorting them out of the room. Carlisle came and sat next to me, and asked Garrett to give us a minute alone to talk.

"My biggest fear is that you'll hurt Bella and the baby, as much as you've hurt yourself," he started as if we were in the middle of a conversation, with no other form of greeting.

I wanted to tell him that I worried about the same thing, but I decided that would sound too pathetic, so I responded with something else that was true."I'm not going to promise 'till death do us part'."

"It's hard for anyone to be sure of their future. Esme didn't marry Emmett Sr. in the plans of divorcing him, but things happen. That's not to say it has to happen to you. Alice thinks you really care about Bella…somewhere buried deep inside, you have a heart Edward, I know you do. Just try. Try to give this marriage and your family a chance. It could be the best thing that ever happened to you. Your father destroyed his family, don't let that horrendous act make you fail _your_ family. Rise above it Edward; you were given this path for a reason, you just need to figure out what that is."

I didn't respond, but I didn't have to. Carlisle just wanted me to listen to him, and that I did do. I actually understood what he was saying, but at the same time I didn't believe it. I always swore that I'd never let myself build a family of my own, I wouldn't do that to them. My father was a good man, a man who had a good life and the world at his fingertips…and he snapped. If a good man could turn in that way, what the hell was I capable of doing?

No, that wouldn't be me, I couldn't let it. I needed to get out before it got to that point, so I'd marry like I was told, but as soon as possible, I would end it.

When the room was emptied, the Cullens came back in, as did Pastor Swan. He glared at me for a moment, and then he gestured for me to follow him, so I did.

He led me to his office where he told me to sit, and I knew exactly what was going to happen…more threats.

"I'm not going to sit here and blame you for this entire thing," he told me unexpectedly. "Bella said there was no force, so she has responsibility here too. Like with everything in life, there is a purpose for this, and that little life deserves a chance. I need to know that you are going to do what you can to make sure the baby has that chance," he said intensely.

"Ok," I said for no other reason than the fact that I knew he wouldn't let me leave the room otherwise. But the truth was that the kid would be taken care of, half of my inheritance and a monthly child support check would insure that.

Charlie nodded, and then let me leave. The man had a hard time looking me in the eye, and I could see the stress and sorrow he had about the entire thing, which actually made me feel like shit. The whole thing started because I was pissed at him for no particular reason, and I just realized the error of that anger. He was a decent person, and he didn't deserve the mess I got his family in.

I went back out to the main room, and waited for the marriage process to begin. I hadn't seen Bella since the day she told me she was pregnant, so I was slightly curious about her reaction to all of the marriage stuff.

The Cullens all came in to sit in the front pews, and Garrett came back in as well. Pastor Swan stood in the front, and waved me forward.

Fuck.

It was a surreal moment, as were most of my moments with Bella, but I kept reminding myself how I just had to get through it.

The next thing I knew, Bella was standing next to me. I didn't see her come in, and she absolutely refused to look at me. She was angry, and she had every right to be. But then I started wondering her reason for going through with it; I knew why I was there, but why the hell would she ever agree to marry me?

The pastor gave some speech, and then Bella said "I do." To what exactly she had agreed to however, I wasn't actually listening so I had no idea.

But then it was my turn. The pastor said something to me, but because I wasn't paying attention, I had no idea what I was promising. But they were all waiting for me to speak, so I said. "Uh…yeah, whatever."

"Yes or no, Edward?" Charlie asked sternly.

"Oh…yes," I said emotionlessly, and then we were married.

Bella started crying immediately, and then she turned and ran out of the room.

Damn.

I just stood there like an idiot, while Alice glared at me and mouthed something. I shrugged at her, and then Esme huffed loudly before getting up and running after Bella.

Carlisle and Emmett looked at me disappointedly, and Garrett just looked confused. Charlie closed his bible loudly, and then stormed out of the room back towards his office.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Emmett asked me after the pastor was gone.

Carlisle smacked Em on the back of the head, presumably for saying 'hell' in church, before turning towards me. "You're already not starting off so well," he chided me.

"What did I do?" I asked baffled.

"Your _wife_ is upset, you should have gone after her," he explained.

"Why? Obviously she's upset because of me, so how the hell could I help her?" I asked confused.

"How about assuring her that you're going to try," Alice butted in. "She's got all those pregnancy hormones running through her, plus the fact that her life was just turned upside down. The least you can do is try to comfort her."

I huffed and rolled my eyes. "I said I'd marry her, not be her fucking hankie."

Carlisle shook his head in disbelief, which mirrored Alice and Emmett's expressions as well. But what they didn't understand was that it was better that way. I couldn't be _that_ guy for her, I couldn't be her shoulder to cry on when I fully planned on leaving as soon as I could. She needed and deserved someone a whole hell of a lot better than me.

I sat on one of the benches and just waited for Carlisle to tell me that it was time to leave. He stood and went out the way Esme had chased Bella, but Emmett and Alice stayed with me.

"You're a dipshit," Emmett said after a minute.

"Yep," I agreed.

"Hey Edward, I should probably get going," Garrett said hesitantly. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"

I was about to answer him, but Emmett turned to him and answered for me. "We'll take care of him," he told him sadistically.

"Thanks Garrett," I said, which pretty much shocked the hell out of him.

"Yeah, no problem," he said before leaving. Garrett was actually a lot like James, except James was nice out of fear from me and god, whereas Garrett didn't really believe in a higher power but he was genuinely a nice guy who had a fucked up home situation. He was shy, had an acne problem, and didn't have friends before me, but I actually really liked the guy.

We waited for another ten minutes, I had to sign some papers of some-sort, and finally Carlisle came back inside. "Ok, let's go home," he told us.

Emmett and Alice got up and hurried outside, but Carlisle pulled me to a stop. "You better be nice," he warned me.

I put up my hands defensively. "Ok," I told him.

When we got to Carlisle's escalade, I saw Bella sitting quietly in the back with Alice talking her ear off next to her. We locked eyes for a brief moment, but she quickly looked away. Her face was puffy and red blotched from crying, but she was every bit as beautiful as she ever was, and for a brief moment, I wished more than anything that I could be what she needed, but the moment passed as quickly as it came.

I was _not that guy_ and I never would be, so there was no point in wishing that I was.

* * *

><p><strong>***Well, they're pregnant and married as in the description, so what's left to do?<strong>

**Still a long way to go for these two, and I'm afraid Edward still has more pissing off left to do :o**

**Please Review**


	10. Avoidance

**Unintended**

Chapter 10 – _Avoidance_~

The car was more than quiet as we drove back to the Cullens, and the silence was deafening. I hated everyone in that fucking car, including my new wife and the baby inside her. I just wanted to go to sleep and wake up ten years later into the life I was meant to be living.

When we got there, I went right up to my room and shut the door behind me. I climbed into my full sized bed and just laid there trying my best to sleep through the rest of the day, but then something caught my eye…_was there chick clothes hanging in my closet?_

I got off the bed and walked over to my walk in closet, and saw half of my clothes thrown on the floor in the corner, and Bella's clothes were hanging in their place. What the fuck?

"Esme and Alice did that this morning," Bella's voice sounded from behind me. "I can help you fold everything that's on the floor, if you want," she said emotionlessly.

I huffed loudly. "It's fine," I said without looking back at her. Fuck she smelled good.

After I finished folding everything myself, I went and used the bathroom, and when I came back out, Bella was lying in my bed under the covers with her eyes closed. I knew she couldn't have been sleeping because I wasn't away for very long, but seeing her in that position was actually quite fascinating to me. I saw her asleep before, but seeing her appear that way in my bed was definitely a trip.

I took a step towards her, and then looked closer at her perfect features.

"Please, can I just have some time alone?" she asked me without opening her eyes.

"Whatever," I said coldly before walking out of my room and shutting her inside.

I hadn't even shared my room for more than an hour, and I already hated it. With Bella moping in my bed, where the hell was I supposed to go for _my_ moping solitude?

I went downstairs to try to find a quiet place to zone out, but there were people freaking everywhere. I guess I never realized how crowded the house was before, but not having a space of my own definitely opened my eyes.

Esme was cooking in the kitchen, Emmett was making out with his girlfriend in the living room, Alice was giggling with her friends in the backyard, and Carlisle was actually home for a change and doing yard work in the front.

Damn, I just wanted a moment of fucking peace.

I didn't understand why Emmett and Rose were making out in such a common area as the living room anyway, I mean, even though he didn't technically live with us anymore, he still had his room….which I briefly thought about borrowing, but then the idea of him fucking Rose in there grossed me out, so I decided that wasn't an option either.

I finally found myself in Carlisle's office, which I was sure he wouldn't have been too happy about me being in, but like with everything else in my life, I just really didn't care. I had my iPod in hand, but before I settled in on the couch, I couldn't help but look around first. I had never really been in there before, at least not in years, so I was nosily curious.

Carlisle was overly organized on the outside, but as I began rummaging through his drawers, I realized that he was actually a slob. All his files were a mess, and there were scraps of garbage stuffed into every nook and cranny of his desk and bookshelf.

I came across an old picture of me with my family, but I couldn't look at it, so I quickly flipped it upside down and pushed it aside before continuing with my exploration.

I honestly had no idea why I was snooping around, it wasn't like I was looking for anything in particular, but I just couldn't help it. When I was done with his desk, I started looking over his massive collection of books, and began pulling random ones out and flipping through them absently. But then I got to a book that looked strange. I pulled it out and opened it, only to realize that it wasn't a book at all. It was one of those hallowed faux books, and inside was a lot of weird shit.

"Whoa Carlisle, what kind of skeletons do you have here?" I asked out loud despite being alone.

There was a paper with an address on it, some bizarre legal documents, and an old weathered picture of a young woman I had never seen before. I flipped the picture over, and on the back there was a note.

_My Love,_

_I dream of being with you, but I understand why we can't be.  
>I know you love your wife, but I also know you love me too.<br>If there was ever a way for us to be together, I wouldn't cease to find it.  
>I often wonder what our lives would have been like if you chose me,<br>but all that does is make my heart ache. _

_I'll miss you, forever. All my love is yours,  
>Didyme<em>

….

I felt strangely guilty for reading the letter, especially because there were several others that went along with it. So, I put the picture away, and tried to forget about it. A physical affair was one thing, but from what the letter described, Carlisle loved that chick, and Esme deserved better than that. I just hoped for her sake that the cheating ended with that Didyme broad.

I went down to the kitchen, because I was fucking starved, but as soon as I got there, I realized my mistake.

"How is Bella doing? Is she comfortable?" Esme asked the moment she saw me. I actually had a hard time looking at her after learning about Carlisle's affair, but I tried to shake it out of my mind as much as possible.

"Uh…she's sleeping," I told her.

Esme's face distorted into one of pity. "Poor thing, she must be exhausted after such a traumatic day."

"_Yeah, whatever_," I said under my breath. I started looking through the pantry for something to eat, but Esme stopped me.

"Dinner is in ten minutes," she told me.

"Dinner? What happened to lunch?" I wondered, but she didn't answer me.

"Go on upstairs and let Bella know," she instructed. "She's probably starving….Oh and Edward, wake her gently."

I rolled my eyes, before heading back upstairs.

"Yo, Bella!" I called after opening the door loudly. "Dinner is ready," I said regardless of her lack of response. I headed back out the door, but when I realized that she still wasn't moving, I walked back to the bed and sat by her feet.

I watched her face as she breathed heavily, and I found myself momentarily getting lost in the way her lip was curled …._was she actually snoring_? A small laugh escaped my lips as a response to the noise she was making…which finally woke her up. _The girl slept through my yelling, but a light giggle woke her? Damn._

She opened her eyes, and jumped.

"Whoa," I said with my hands out in front of me. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

She looked around the room in a daze for a minute, and then blinked a few times before looking back at me. "What are you doing?" she asked groggily.

"Nothing," I snapped defensively.

She raised her eyebrows at me, but then furrowed them and shook her head slightly.

"This bed is really hard," she said as she sat up.

"Yeah, I like it hard," I said irritated, but then had to smirk at the double meaning.

"I can't sleep in a hard bed," she stated.

"Weren't you just sleeping?" I asked like a smartass.

"Yeah, but now I'm all achy."

"Well, sucks for you," I told her carelessly. I really didn't know what the hell she wanted me to do about it, fucking buy her a new mattress? I was already losing over half my inheritance for her ass, and I wouldn't waist a dime more.

She stood and stretched, but when she did so, her shirt road up exposing her swollen abdomen. I stared at it in shock for a moment, but when she noticed my gawking, she quickly pulled down her shirt and then glared at me intensely.

"Look, just so we're clear, I don't like this anymore than you do," she said agitatedly. "I didn't cry to my dad and beg him to force you into this. In fact, I can think of a million places I'd rather be at this exact moment, but this is where we are so just get over it."

Her aggression caught me off guard, and I was actually a little impressed…not that I'd ever tell her that.

"Whoa, let me get this straight, a few hours ago you were crying in the car, and now you're in here being the queen of bitches?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, I've been emotional lately. Deal with it," she said strongly. "But I don't need your little attitude trips, so whenever you feel like mouthing off, just keep it to yourself or go do it away from me."

"Honey, I have no desire to be around you any more than I have to be, so bitching would just be a waste of my time," I told her arrogantly.

"Good," she said while walking towards the door, and pushing me on her way out.

Fucking bitch….Why the hell did she have to smell so good?

I followed her down at a distance, and when we got to the dining room, we both seemed to purposely try to sit as far away from each other as possible.

"How was your nap sweetheart?" Esme asked Bella as she came into the room.

"Fine, thanks…here, let me help you," Bella said while chasing after Esme into the kitchen.

I heard Esme speaking in hushed whispers, and I definitely heard my name, but I couldn't make out anything else they were saying. Fucking women and their gossiping.

Alice and a couple of her friends came in to sit for dinner, and Carlisle came in a few minutes later. Esme and Bella then carried in platters from the kitchen, and sat as well. I was grateful when Esme didn't scold me for sitting so far from my 'wife', because that was really that last place I wanted to be. _How the hell would I enjoy my food with her scent consuming me anyway?_

"Where's Emmett?" Esme asked suddenly.

"I'll go find him," Carlisle offered before getting up to leave.

"So, Bella, are you really pregnant?" one of Alice's friends asked with a giggle. Alice and all her friends were juniors, so they didn't exactly run in the same crowd as Bella, but I was positive they were in the cafeteria the day Bella told me in front of everyone.

"Yes," Bella replied absently.

"That's so cool," the friend said, but then Esme glared at her. "I mean, that's got to be scary," she said nervously.

"Yeah, I definitely recommend waiting," Bella said to her, with an approving nod from Esme.

"So, what does it feel like?" Alice's other friend asked Bella.

She shrugged. "Strange," was all Bella said before Carlisle walked back into the room, with Emmett and Rosalie trailing behind him.

"What's wrong?" Esme asked Carlisle. Both he and Emmett looked flustered, but Rose looked absolutely horrified.

"Nothing is wrong," Carlisle said cryptically before shooting his wife a meaningful look.

"Oh," Esme responded looking embarrassed herself.

"Oh I see, Carlisle caught you guys fucking?" I said with a laugh.

Alice and her friends gasped and then started snickering, Esme Carlisle and Emmett all looked like they wanted to kick my ass, Bella looked embarrassed, but Rose actually started crying and then got up and ran out of the house.

"What'd I say?" I asked with faux innocence.

"Fuck Edward, did you not have enough of my fist in your face last night?" Emmett asked me angrily before storming off after Rosalie.

"Edward, how could you say that?" Esme chided.

"Oh come on, like it wasn't obvious," I said with another laugh.

"Edward, we talked about this," Carlisle said frustrated while throwing his napkin on the table. "When are you going to grow up and think before you open your mouth?" He stood and walked out of the dining room, and I could hear him storming upstairs, presumably into his office.

"We're not usually like this," Esme told Bella apologetically, before excusing herself from the table as well.

"You are such a dick," Alice said to me sourly.

"Yeah, so what's new?" I asked carelessly.

"Ugh, come on, let's go eat in the living room," Alice told her friends.

When Bella and I were alone, we just stared at each other uncomfortably for a moment.

"Wow, you sure know how to clear a room," she said sarcastically.

"You're not the first person who's said that to me," I said cockily.

She shook her head frustrated, and I expected her to leave as well, but she didn't, and we ate the rest of our meal in silence.

As soon as I was finished eating, I hurried to my room hoping she'd get the hint and give me space; after all, it was only fair, I did give her time to herself.

Thankfully, Bella didn't come…but I still couldn't sleep.

Fuck.

Suddenly my room didn't feel like mine anymore, so I got up and decided to go on a cigarette break.

I just happened to walk past the kitchen, and was surprised to see Bella in there alone doing the dishes. I felt bad, as if I should help her or something, but then I shrugged it off and continued outside.

I stayed out for a few hours, trying to avoid running into Bella for as long as possible, but then the sky went dark and it started raining again, so I had to go back inside. The kitchen was spotless and everyone seemed to be in their respective rooms for the evening, so, since the living room was finally unoccupied, I kicked up my feet and scanned through the movie channels. I sat there for hours doing absolutely nothing. People came and went out of the room a few times, but I wasn't paying attention to any of them, and before I knew it, it was well past midnight.

I went up to go to bed, but after seeing Bella there sleeping again, I realized that there was no way in hell I'd sleep in the same bed as her, so I grabbed my pillow and laid on the floor.

After ten minutes of listening to all the little noises Bella made in her sleep, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to go back downstairs to sleep on the couch. Needless to say, I awoke the next morning with a stiff neck and a backache. Fuck, I hated sharing a room.

"You better hurry to get ready for school," Esme said casually as she walked past the living room.

"Um, I think I'm gonna skip school again today. It is my honeymoon, after all," I said mockingly.

"Get upstairs and shower," Esme told me unfazed.

"Fine, whatever," I said annoyed. Actually, school would be a welcomed relief compared to the hell of being at home; at least there, I'd get to hang with my friends and enjoy a sense of normalcy.

I ran up the stairs to my bathroom, but that too had been taken over by Bella. My bed, the closet, and now my bathroom; it had only been a day, and she had already gained control of everything.

So, I decided to bypass showering, and just get dressed. I walked into my closet, and was hit hard with Bella's scent as it poured off her things and consumed all the air inside. I tried to think past it, but when I grabbed one of my shirts off the hanger and pulled it over my head, I realized that her scent had invaded my clothing as well. What the fuck?

It was intoxicating, and I absolutely loathed it. I didn't want to smell like her all day, and I sure as hell didn't want to be smelling her all day, but as I went for another shirt, I realized that it was pointless. All my clothes smelled like fucking strawberries.

I finished dressing, and didn't even bother looking in the mirror before heading downstairs. I was early, so I went out to smoke while I waited. Fifteen minutes later, Alice, Esme, and Bella came strolling out of the house and headed to the car, but then I noticed something.

"Is that my sweatshirt?" I asked appalled as Bella walked past.

She stopped and looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry, mine didn't fit anymore… Do you mind?"

I opened my mouth to tell her 'yes', because I most certainly did mind, but Bella didn't wait for an answer, she just walked carelessly to the car.

"Part of being a good husband, is allowing your wife to wear any article of clothing you have whenever she wants." Carlisle told me. I didn't even realize he was there, but he must have seen my irritation.

"That's the thing," I told him. "I'm not a 'good husband' and I don't plan on being one either. I'm just buying my time until I can finally be free of all you people," I said cruelly.

Carlisle didn't respond, he knew there wasn't a point. I hated life, and nothing he could say would change that.

"So Bella, what kind of classes are you taking this year?" Esme asked her as she drove us to school.

"Um, I'm just finishing up with the remaining credits I need to graduate," Bella responded.

"Any AP classes?" Esme questioned.

"Nope. I won't be going to college, so I really don't see the point in advanced placement," Bella told her.

"Oh, well, you know we'll help with sitters and whatnot if you're worried about the baby next year," Esme offered.

"That's nice Mrs. Cullen, but it really has nothing to do with the baby. But thanks for the offer."

"Honey, you don't have to worry about the cost of tuition either; Edward's father left him a considerable amount of money and you'll be able to afford anything you need."

"Esme?" I interrupted. Now she was offering my money to pay for Bella's college? What the fuck?

"Don't worry Edward, there's plenty to pay for both of you," Esme said dismissively.

"I think I'm just going to get a job here in town," Bella told her.

I was sure Esme would have argued with her more, but we were finally at school, so the conversation was dropped. We got out and all went our separate ways.

Just as I predicted, nothing at school was any different. I hung out with my friends, smoked, made plans to get stoned after school, and Bella hung with her friends and did whatever lame shit they always did. When we randomly passed in the halls, we didn't say hi, and if we accidently looked at each other, we'd look away immediately. Nothing was different…._except that it was_.

I never cared about gossip before, and I could give two rat's asses about what people said about me, but hearing all the shit talk about Bella did start getting on my nerves. I'd hear people talking about her practically everywhere I went, and I could feel the anger inside of me bubbling.

When I saw Bella at lunch however, she didn't seem to be affected by the gossiping whatsoever. She must have heard it as I did, but she really didn't seem to care. So, if she didn't care, why should I?

After school, I met Garrett at his car and we drove over to Randall's place to spend the afternoon smoking weed. To avoid anymore lectures or dramatic blowups, I went home before dinner, hung around for a while, went up to my room for 'bed' that night, but I had no plans on staying.

I couldn't sleep on the living room couch again and the floor sucked, so I decided to head over to Peter's house for the night. His folks were away on vacation for the next week, so I planned on staying there while they were away. But then I ran into a roadblock.

"Where are you going?" Carlisle asked me. It was ten pm and I was on my way over to Peter's, while Carlisle was just coming home for the night.

"Out," I said casually. I had instructed Peter to wait for me at the end of the street, because I didn't want his loud jeep to make anyone take notice.

"Uh..No, you're not. You're life is Bella and the baby now, remember? Now, go back upstairs, and go to bed," he demanded as if I was a fucking child. I thought about arguing, but I really wasn't in the mood, so I did what I was told… at least, he'd think that I did.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked in a panic as I started crawling out of my bedroom window. We were on the second floor, so I guess she was worried about my safety, which was really pathetic; did she actually think that I had never snuck out before?

"I know you may not realize this, but guys like me have fucking needs, and I sure as hell can't get them met here," I told her callously. I meant 'needs' as in actual sleep, but I knew exactly how it sounded. Her face fell, but then she turned away. I thought briefly about explaining further, but it was just better that way. We weren't a couple…_not really_, and there was no reason to let her believe we were.

I used the trellis as a ladder and climbed down, then walked quietly to where I told Peter to meet me.

It continued on that way for the rest of the week. At ten o'clock I'd climb out my window to meet Peter, and then I'd be back at the Cullen's place in the morning before anyone, except Bella, realized I was even gone.

I spent as little time as possible with Bella, and we rarely spoke, but when Peter's parents came home and I no longer had a place to go at night, I knew things were going to change.

* * *

><p><strong>***Wow, and he keeps getting worse, right?<br>UGH! I wrote him and even I'm frustrated. lol. But, stick with me because a major change happens in the next chapter!**

**Please Review**


	11. Ruined

**Unintended**

~Chapter 11 – _Ruined_~

"Hello lover," Vicky said to me during lunch.

"Don't make me puke," I told her disgusted.

"Now Edward, why do you have to be so mean?" she asked with faux offense.

"Because we both know I wouldn't go near you, even with his dick," I told her while gesturing towards Randall.

"That hurts," she said sourly.

"Good, go cry somewhere else," I told her. "I'm sure James still has a major hard on for you, so why don't you go find him to fuck around with," I suggested.

"James is sweet and all, but he's really not my type," she said while leaning into me and squeezing her breasts together.

"You're fucking disgusting," I told her, so she scowled at me and then went on her way.

"Man, that chick is gross," Peter agreed.

"Yeah, what the hell is up with her anyway? She acts like she's obsessed with you lately," Garrett added. Vicky had become somewhat of a problem over the past week. Even if people didn't know that I was technically married, everyone in that town knew Bella was pregnant with my kid, and for whatever reason, it just made Vicky even more persistent. She was a fucking psycho.

"Hey, whatever you do though, just don't fuck her," Randall warned.

"Haven't you been paying attention? I can't stand that chick, so why the hell would I fuck her?" I asked irritated.

"I know she's a bitch, but a fuck is a fuck; how long has it been since you've had sex anyway?" Randall asked teasingly. "Look, all I'm saying is that the chick is trying to bag a payday, and she's fucking rich guys to do it."

"Huh?" Garrett and I asked at the same time.

"She goes after rich dudes, and is trying to get pregnant to trap them. She even has tampered condoms that she uses. I'm actually really fucking surprised that she hasn't succeeded in her mission yet," Randall explained.

Holy the fucking shit!

"How do you know all this?" I fumed.

"One of her bitch friends told the guy she was dating, and you know…word gets around. But don't sweat it."

"Don't SWEAT IT?" I exploded.

"Whoa, calm down bro; you just said you didn't fuck her," Randall said quickly.

"No, I didn't fuck her…but I used one of her fucking condoms to FUCK BELLA!" I yelled irately.

"Oh," they said in understanding.

I had really thought that the washing machine had effected it somehow, even though the plastic wrap was still on, the entire thing was water proof, and I had only washed my shit in cold water, but learning the truth fucking pissed me off to no end.

"Where are you going?" Garrett asked me as I started walking away.

"To find that bitch," I spat.

"Not a good idea, bro. You hit a chick and you're done for," he tried reasoning.

"I don't give a fuck! I'm already done for because of that skank," I told him. I continued to look for her, but she must have left campus. The very fact that she was on campus in the first place was actually odd for her; I had thought that she dropped out two years before.

I couldn't find her, but I swore the next time that I did, she sure as hell would be sorry.

I was so fucking pissed, that I was literally seeing red. Garrett offered to take me home because I was liable to punch a teacher if I stayed in school, so I agreed. He had some big test that day and he needed to get back, so he just dropped me off at the Cullens. But when I got there, I realized that being by myself probably wasn't the best idea either.

"FUCK!" I screamed when I was alone. I went up to my room, but everything in there reminded me of Bella, which in turn, reminded me of why Bella was there, which reminded me of Vicky's tampered fucking condoms.

I yelled out in pure ferocious frustration, and then I lost all control. I began throwing stuff around and trashing anything I could get my hands on. All of Bella's chick shit, all of my stuff that I didn't give a crap about anymore, the whole fucking room needed to be destroyed.

But after the room was in shambles, I realized that my anger was actually misplaced. Everything was my fault. I got pissed at Pastor Swan and so began my path into Bella's life, and then I pretended to be interested in Vicky to piss off James, which caused her to have hope and give me the fucking worthless ruined condom. I had no one to blame but myself, and that fucking sucked because it sure as hell was easier to blame others.

Then again, a part of me was relieved. I actually dodged a major fucking bullet by getting Bella pregnant instead of Vicky. As shitty as my life was, I realized that things could have been a whole hell of a lot worse. That wasn't to say I was happy, but I decided there wasn't anything left to do but to accept it. None of it mattered anyway; after graduation, it would all be a distant memory.

I walked lethargically through the rest of my day. I sat at the dinner table, even did homework, but I couldn't remember any of it when it was over. Since I was no longer welcome at Peter's place, I had spent two nights at Garrett's and a night at Randall's, but I wasn't able to return to any of them due to parental disapproval, so I decided on sleeping in the escalade. I took the keys after dinner, and waited in my room until ten o'clock rolled around.

Bella was getting ready for bed, and as per usual, she wasn't surprised when she noticed me getting ready to leave…but this time she did ask questions, which she hadn't done since the first night.

"Are you going to tell me what happened to the room?" she asked casually as I went to open the window.

"Oh shit, did we get robbed?" I said jokingly, but she didn't laugh, not that I expected her to or anything.

"Is it true?" she asked, ignoring my lame joke.

"What?" I asked confused. Her question seemed to be on an entirely different topic, but I had no idea what it was.

"Did Vicky really give you the condom you used that night?" she asked emotionlessly.

"Who the fuck told you that?" I asked heatedly.

"It doesn't matter," she said quickly. "Just answer the question."

I huffed, and seriously thought about ignoring her and just leaving, but then I turned back to her. "Yes, it's true. She slipped it into my pocket a few weeks before, and I never questioned it….I'm sorry," I told her, shocking the hell out of both of us.

We were both quiet for awhile, but all my anger that day had really worn me out, so I went back for the window.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Where do you think I'm going?" I asked bitterly.

"It's storming out there," she pointed out.

"Aw, your concern is touching, really," I said mockingly. "But I'll be fine," I said before opening the window.

Shit, it was pouring. After a minute of considering a way to climb down the wet trellis, I decided that I'd more than likely end up slipping and falling. I wouldn't mind death, but from that height, all that would happen was broken bones or becoming paralyzed, which would really fucking suck worse than my life already did. So, I closed the window.

Without another word, I grabbed a pillow and laid on the floor.

There was no sound, except the rain beating down on the roof and the gentle breaths coming from Bella, so I knew she wasn't sleeping yet; her snores weren't that quiet.

"You can sleep on the bed, you know," she told me out of nowhere.

"I'm fine," I told her coldly.

More silence.

"Edward?" she said hesitantly after an immeasurable amount of time.

"What?"

"Where do you go when you leave here at night?"

"Out…" I told her, but for whatever reason, I decided to elaborate. "I just can't sleep here."

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know…I just haven't been able to sleep in the same room as anyone since…" I let my sentence trail off. I had no idea what the hell I was talking about, and I was even more baffled as to why I was talking to her at all.

"Edward…we are married, you know," she said after more time passed.

"So?"

"So, you don't have to go somewhere else to get your 'needs' taken care of," she said lightly.

_Uh…_

"Huh?" I asked unsure what she meant.

"I'm not an idiot, ok. I know that as soon as you get your inheritance, you'll leave and never look back, but…"

"But what?" I urged her to continue.

"But it's really freaking hard to be pregnant. I'm emotional all the time, I'm scared and pissed that I'm stuck with you, but more than anything, _right now_, I'm just fucking horny."

_Uh…_

"You're kidding, right?" I asked completely flabbergasted.

"NO!" she yelled bitterly. "Do you think I'm happy about this? I really don't like you, but the truth is that you're here, and doing it alone just isn't cutting it anymore."

_Holy. Mother. Fuck._

"I'm not going to fuck you," I told her unconvincingly.

She exhaled angrily. "Fine, just don't pay attention then," she said shocking me yet again.

It was dark, and I couldn't see anything from the position I was in on the floor, but after hearing the ruffling of fabric, I had a pretty good idea of what she was doing.

_Just stay where you are Masen_ – I told myself.

_But why the fuck should I? She asked me to fuck her, so what kind of person would I be if I said no?_ – I argued mentally.

And then I was on autopilot. I couldn't stop myself even if I wanted to. I hadn't had sex in who knew how long, and there was a beautiful girl, in my bed, touching herself. There was no way I could pass that up.

I found myself on the bed next to her, but she didn't stop, so I just watched her for a minute. I couldn't fucking take it any longer, I needed to touch her. I grabbed her hand and forced it away from her body, and replaced it with mine. I started right where she left off, rubbing and caressing, and her body responded to my touch immediately. She moaned, and I nearly blew my load right then.

God, she was still fucking perfect.

I had always thought oral was disgusting, but in that moment, I just needed to taste her. Her body flinched as my tongue came in contact with her moist folds, but then she relaxed into me and reached down to knot her hands into my hair.

I couldn't get enough of her, and the more I licked and lapped her up, the more I wanted. It was fucking amazing.

"Edward," she moaned. I knew she was close, and I definitely didn't want to miss out on any part of her, so I pulled back and began removing my pants.

She removed her shirt, and I couldn't help but stop to stare at her in complete awe. I would have thought her being pregnant would be a turnoff, but then I realized that nothing could ever turn me off of her.

She was sitting there naked, and even though it was dark, my eyes were adjusted to see all her perfection. I moved to be on her, but she scooted back and denied my access. I was really going to fucking explode.

She stared at me suggestively, and waited.

"What?" I asked desperately.

She raised her eyebrow, and glanced down at my chest.

I understood immediately, and she didn't have to ask me twice. I'd do just about anything to be inside of her at that moment, so I pulled my shirt over my head, and she smiled approvingly before letting me in.

My lips crashed down on hers, and moved eagerly, roughly, but she didn't complain. The harder I kissed her, the harder she kissed back. Our tongues fought for dominance, and hers won. She was fucking amazing.

I kissed her jaw and down her neck, before moving onto her breasts. They were definitely bigger and fuller than the last time, but I really didn't care either way because she was fucking perfect.

I couldn't wait any longer, so I slammed into her.

I didn't ever think about the fact that I wasn't wearing a condom, until I was already inside her. I had never gone without one before, and it was pure ecstasy, but I wasn't sure if it was the lack of a barrier, or the fact that I was finally fucking Bella again after forcing myself not to think about it for so long.

Our hands were all over each other, and as I thrust into her uncontrollably, I couldn't get into her deep enough.

"Edward, harder," she demanded, so I found a way to oblige, and pounded into her even harder than I already was.

It was fucking euphoric…but it didn't last long. I couldn't hold it in, and I erupted into her with force I hadn't experienced before. It was actually a good thing she was already pregnant, because if she wasn't that probably would have done it.

Fuck, I was definitely not expecting that.

I stayed inside her for a few extra minutes, just slowly pumping and riding out my climax. Her inner walls were clamping down on my like the world's best massage, and I actually dreaded the moment when I knew I would have to pull out of her.

_Would she let me do it again, or would this be the last time?_ The thought of never being inside her again was actually traumatic, but I couldn't stay in her forever, so I reluctantly pulled out and laid beside her, still gasping for air.

"Thanks," she said casually, and then rolled over and pulled up a blanket up to cover herself.

I thought about getting up to move off the bed, but my mind was fucking everywhere and my head was spinning, and for the life of me, I couldn't move. My entire body ached, so I just laid there and panted like a fucking pussy.

And the next thing I knew, the sun was blaring through the window and I was alone in bed.

"Bella?" I asked groggily as I looked around half blind from the bright light. The bathroom door was shut, so I assumed she was in there taking a shower….and I assumed right.

A few minutes later, she walked out buck naked and her hair dripping wet, but she didn't even glance my way.

Fuck, that girl was going to kill me.

Other parts of me took notice to her too, but by the way she walked directly into the closet, I knew she was just fucking messing with us and had no intention of letting me inside her again.

_Sorry, man_ – I thought to my member, hoping he'd settle back down.

When Bella reemerged from the closet, she was fully dressed, and never said a word before walking out of the room.

I laid back on the bed, and closed my eyes hoping that when I opened them again, I'd be out of the 'Twilight Zone' and back in my normal mundane life. Everything was different that morning, and I couldn't look at Bella the same, but I wished that none of it happened. It was fucking amazing, but if she wasn't going to let me touch her again, then I'd rather have stayed in my distant angry hole that I had buried myself in, the one where I didn't care about anything. It was just easier that way.

She went on like nothing changed, and when we got to school, she walked off to her friends, so I walked off towards mine. We didn't say hi when we passed each other in the hall, and if we accidentally looked at each other, we'd look away immediately.

Nothing changed….except for every fucking thought in my pathetic mind.

All I could think about was being inside her again, and as much as I tried to stop, I just couldn't.

Needless to say, I went straight home after school. I needed to be ready in case she had another burst of overactive hormones.

But she showed no interest in me whatsoever.

When Bella went up to bed that night, I followed her as my last chance….but she went to sleep that night without an even hint of desire.

Three days it continued that way, but then finally, she threw me a fucking bone.

I was resolved to just sleep on the ground besides the bed, but I had lost all hope of touching Bella again, so I was beyond surprised when I was trying to get comfortable for the night and she said my name.

"Edward."

I was absolutely stunned by how my body reacted to the sound of my name on her lips; my stomach did flips, and ever last inch of me started buzzing in anticipation.

"Yeah?" I replied as calmly as possible.

"Will you come up here with me?" she asked without a hint of hesitation or nervousness.

I didn't answer her; I was just automatically up on the bed next to her.

"Take off your shirt," she demanded.

Done.

Our lips crashed together, but as much as I wanted to take control, she wouldn't let me. If I did something she didn't want me to do, she forcefully pushed me away, only to crash back down on me the way she wanted it. Absolutely fucking perfect.

She pushed me over on the bed so I was lying on my back, and there was a smallest amount of nervousness from her as she straddled me. She never did that position before, so I could understand her uncertainty, but as she sunk down and took in all of me, her body took over and she threw her nerves out the window.

It was not my favorite position, only because it was hard for me to move, _and I needed to move_. So I grabbed onto her hips tightly, and began upward thrusting to match her movements. With the way it had been going that night, I almost expected her to make me stop moving so she could remain in control, but she allowed it and when her head fell back helplessly, I knew she was fucking enjoying it as much as I was. I fucking loved that position.

I sat up as she continued to ride me, and I kissed her neck, her shoulders, anything and everything I could reach in that position without disturbing her motion. God, even her skin tasted good.

She moaned, and I grunted blissfully.

But all too soon, we both tensed and then released into the most rewarding explosion and sequential numbing hum which engulfed our entire bodies. I knew she felt it too because we were perfectly in sync, and I wondered how I would ever get enough of her.

After we pulled apart, I laid next to her again, and felt physically exhausted. _Damn, I had really let myself go._

But as I was catching my breath, she had something she wanted to say.

"If we're going to keep doing this, then I don't want you fucking around with anyone else," she said emotionlessly.

Was she fucking serious? She had to be joking because I thought it was pretty clear the way I was responding to her. The chick absolutely _ruined_ me when it came to other women, and she had to know it. I couldn't think beyond her, and there was nothing or no one else I desired. Her body commanded mine, and I was powerless against her. It became painfully clear at that moment just how much I would suffer after it was finally over once and for all, because there wasn't a single other woman who could ever measure up to Bella.

But she was waiting for a response, and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell her all that shit, so I simply said "Ok."

"And it has to be on my terms," she added.

"Ok," I told her again. Of course I agreed, I'd agree to just about anything to continue on in that way. I was fucking pathetically desperate, and I knew it, but I really didn't care at that moment.

Along with the spoken rules, there were also two more that she enforced which were never discussed.

First, she wouldn't allow me touch her unless I had my shirt off. I didn't understand it in the beginning, but then I realized that it was part of her control; she knew I wouldn't remove my shirt for anyone else.

And second, when we weren't messing around in my room, we continued on as if nothing was different. I would have expected that kind of behavior from myself, but she was the one who wanted it that way, which confused the hell out of me.

There was so much about Bella that I didn't understand, and I didn't pretend to either. She was an enigma, and the more of her that I discovered, the more I wanted to know.

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><p><strong>****FYI, a lot of people were asking for a BPOV, but it's not going to happen yet, <strong>_**if at all**_**. I like that Edward has no idea what she's thinking or feeling, and I want everyone to get to know the real Bella along with him. **

**A few more chapters left for this Edward, and then he has some growing up to do… literally. **

**Love it, hate it?  
>Please Review<strong>


	12. Maybe

**Unintended**

A/N: Wow, everyone was really supportive of Bella in the last chapter, and I wasn't expecting that, so thank you very much.

The story is going to thankfully pick up pace now, but as for the amount of overall chapters, I have no idea. Thanks again for sticking with me, and I hope you will continue to do so all the way until the end.

* * *

><p>~Chapter 12 –<em>Maybe<em>~

I lived for the nights.

I spent my days just counting the hours until I could be alone with Bella, and forget about the rest of the world.

Time did nothing but intensify my craving for her. We started out only connecting every few days or so, but it quickly escalated to every night.

I found myself searching for her at school, just to know what she was doing and who she was spending her time with. It wasn't a jealousy thing…it was pure obsession.

I knew how intensely I yearned for her, and I was well aware of how unhealthy it had become, but I couldn't bring myself to care either.

We continued to pretend like we didn't care about each other when other people were around, but both of our façades were beginning to break.

It started off slowly. We were passing each other in the hall between third and fourth periods, just like we did every other day, but that time I brushed her hand with mine as we breezed past. She didn't respond, but I knew she felt it. The next day I did it again with still no response from her, but by the third day, she decided to play along. I went to brush her hand, but instead, she grabbed my fingers and twisted them painfully. It hurt like hell, but even though she didn't laugh, I knew it was meant lightheartedly.

At home, we continued with our little games. I'd sit at the table at dinner, and she'd sit as far from me as possible, but I always found a way to touch her. If it was grazing her fingers while passing the salt, or playing footsy under the table, whenever it was possible to touch her without anyone noticing, I'd do it.

"Honey, will you help me set the table?" Esme asked me one afternoon.

"Uh…sure," I said reluctantly. I was just on my way in from having a cigarette out back, and I actually planned on doing some homework, but I had a feeling that Esme had something she wanted to talk to me about, so I humored her.

She handed me the plates and silverware, and then she began filling a pitcher of water.

"Uh, there's too many," I told her when I realized that she gave me more than enough plates.

"No, Rose is going to be here….and so is Pastor Swan," she informed me.

Fuck.

Charlie had been over a few times since Bella moved in, but I always did my best to avoid him whenever possible. I appeased everyone by going to church every Sunday with them, but I really didn't want to sit at the dinner table and have a forced casually conversation with the man. I didn't know enough about bible shit to keep his interest anyway, so there wasn't anything to talk to him about.

But I didn't complain. The only thing complaining would accomplish was to get me a night sleeping on the floor with a pair of blue balls in the morning. Bella owned my ass, and we both knew it so there was no point in denying it…at least not to myself.

When I was finished setting the table, Esme gave me something else to do. She was obviously trying to stall my departure until she could figure out exactly how she wanted to tell me what was on her mind.

"Esme, why don't you just say what you have to say," I told her after she asked me to refill the napkins.

She sighed. "Ok, here it goes. Bella is having her six month check up tomorrow, and I know that I've been taking her to her appointments, but I really think you should be the one to take her this time."

"Why?" I asked bitterly.

"Because she's your wife, and she's having your baby. Edward, aren't you even the least bit curious of what the doctor has to say about everything?"

"No," I stated.

"Well, I think you need to be," she told me.

"Why can't she just drive herself?" I asked frustrated. "I'm already paying for her insurance; can't she handle her own appointments?"

"Edward, you need to go," she said sternly, and then I could tell the conversation was over.

I fully admitted that Bella owned my ass, but matters of her pregnancy were different. I didn't want anything to do with it, and I really didn't see the point in going to an appointment for it. I slept next to Bella every night, and sometimes I'd see her rubbing her stomach, but never once did I have the urge to feel it for myself.

I just couldn't go there, not when I still planned on leaving after graduation…and I had to leave, it wasn't even a choice; Bella needed a chance to move on with her life.

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Bella and I were forced to sit next to each other, which I was actually thrilled about, even if no one else knew. And we all just sat there uncomfortably as we ate in silence for awhile. Esme kept trying to make small talk with Charlie, but the man didn't have much to say so it was like pulling teeth.

Rose was also quiet because she was still scared to be around my family due to the way she and Em were caught screwing; of course, the way I embarrassed her afterwards didn't help, but she was trying for Emmett's sake. He kept shooting me warning glares to remind me to watch my mouth, but to be honest, I really didn't want to embarrass Rose anymore than I wanted disappointed looks from Charlie.

"So dad, have you been keeping track of football much this season?" Bella asked Charlie out of nowhere.

Emmett and Carlisle automatically became interested.

"Uh, yeah actually. I mean, as much as I can," Charlie said hesitantly. And that was all it took. Carlisle and Emmett took over the conversation and the three of them were rambling on as if they were all best friends.

I had to admit, I was really fucking impressed by Bella; she knew exactly what to do to make the situation a little less agonizing.

I absently placed my hand on her knee, but she turned her head and glared at me, so I promptly removed it. Damn, I really couldn't wait until bedtime.

After dinner was over, I decided to be nice and help clear the table… although, I guess it was for selfish reasons. Bella always helped Esme with cleanup, so I just really wanted to get it all done as soon as possible so we could make our way upstairs. When the table was clear however, I still had more waiting to do.

"Thanks honey. Now, you better hurry along before Edward drives everyone crazy," Esme said lovingly to Bella after they were finished with the dishes.

I had been pacing back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, and despite their ignorance to the nature of my and Bella's relationship, it was obvious that I was waiting for her.

Bella said something back to Esme, but I couldn't make it out because I was already halfway up the stairs.

It was much early than our usually 'naked time', but I was desperate so the second I got to our room, I immediately started stripping.

I jumped into bed, and wondered what was taking her so long to join me.

She strolled in leisurely a couple minutes later, but instead of taking off her clothes like I hoped, she just plopped down on the new rocking chair in the corner of the room.

One by one, different baby items had started to appear in our room, and the first of which was the rocking chair. But I did my best to not think about any of it, I just couldn't if I wanted to stay sane.

"Uh…are you going to come to bed?" I asked her after a minute.

"I'm really tired today," she said casually.

Fuck.

"Is this payback for the whole knee touching thing at dinner?" I asked her suspiciously.

"No!" she said angrily. "I thought we agreed that this was going to be on my terms?"

I sighed. "Ok," I said quietly. She was right after all; if she didn't feel like it, then I sure as hell wasn't going to pressure her into it.

I got redressed, then grabbed my pillow and pulled it down to the floor, but all that did was piss Bella off even more.

"Oh, so because I don't feel like fucking, you can't stand the thought of sleeping next to me?" she asked irately.

"Whoa, I thought you just wanted some space," I said defensively.

"Some space? As in - I'm too fat for the bed and we both can't fit anymore. That kind of 'space'?" she fumed.

What. The. Fuck.

I didn't know what to say or do, but I knew continuing to speak wasn't doing either of us any good.

But out of nowhere, I just started laughing. I didn't mean to laugh at her, and I knew she was just hormonal so I didn't take it personally, but everything about her outburst was funny to me.

She glared at me even more intensely as I tried to control my laughter, and then she snapped. She screamed out of frustration, and she picked up the first thing she could get a hold of, and chucked it at my head.

I ducked and narrowly missed the flying book, but that didn't satisfy her. She picked something else up and threw it just as hard, but this time it hit me. I was only glad that it was just a pillow.

But I couldn't take that lying down, so I picked up a different pillow, and threw it back at her. I didn't do it hard enough to hurt her, but it was enough to shock her. I was expecting full on fury after that, but she surprised me by smiling and then picking up the pillow again, and charging me with it.

Feathers started flying everywhere as we thrashed the pillows with our impromptu battle. But it didn't matter, because we were actually laughing, both of us, together at the same time. We jumped on the bed…_well, I jumped and she just basically stood there and let me bounce her_. We chased each other around, and rolled in the feathers like a couple of kids; it was the most fun I could remember having in a long time, and it felt really good.

I think we both needed that. We needed some time to let everything go and just let our guards down for awhile. And as odd as it sounded, I think we may have even connected on a different level that evening. There were no false pretenses and no ulterior motives, it was just her and I, and we were playing with each other for no other reason than just to have fun together.

Eventually, I could tell that her exhaustion was taking over, so I waved the white flag and ended playtime. She laid in the bed to calm herself down, and I laid beside her, just enjoying her presence.

We were both lying on our backs, but then she surprised me by rolling over to face me, so I did the same. Our faces were within inches of each other, and I found myself altering my breaths so that when she breathed out, I breathed her in.

"Will you take off your shirt?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," I said without hesitation, and for the first time, it had nothing to do with sex. When my shirt was on the floor, she scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around my bare torso, before closing her eyes and going to sleep. I continued breathing her in, taking deep breaths so she filled my lungs, and I just laid there completely content while I watched her sleep. She was absolutely mesmerizing.

I must have finally fallen asleep as well, because the next thing I knew, it was morning. I woke up before her, in the exact position I had fallen asleep in, and I couldn't remember a time when I felt more rested.

I watched her sleep again, but after awhile, I could tell by the way that she was breathing that she was actually awake and just faking. I smiled knowing she was enjoying our quiet time together as much as I was, but it was actually getting late in the morning, so I decided it was time for her to open her eyes.

I started by pressing my lips lightly to her eyelids, and then I proceeded to pepper her entire face with kisses. She kept her eyes closed and tried not to smile, but she quickly broke and began giggling. Then we were in full on make out mode, but it wasn't our usual erotic kissing, it was gentle and passionate at the same time.

_What the hell was happening to us?_

After a few minutes, our kiss slowed, but we still didn't pull away. We just rested our heads together and basked in the amazing moment.

"You have morning breath," she said abruptly with a giggle.

"Mmm, you taste like feet," I said softly.

It should have been enough to make us separate, but we only held each other closer and continued to smell each other's unpleasant aromas.

But all too soon, she pulled away.

"Where are you going?" I whined. It was Saturday so we didn't have school, and all I wanted was to stay in that position with her all morning… granted I had to piss, but that was beside the point.

"I have an appointment this morning," she reminded me with a smile.

"Oh, right….do you want me to go with you?" I asked surprising both of us.

_Why the hell would I offer that?_ In fact the thought of it scared the shit out of me, but it was too late to take it back.

She stared at me in disbelief, but then she shook her head.

"You don't have to do that," she said as she continued to get ready.

"I want to," I blurted out.

_What the hell was wrong with me?_

It wasn't actually a complete lie. I did want to go, but only because I wasn't ready to be away from her yet. Esme had given me a brief description of what went down during her appointments; she gets measured and weighed, some kind of finger poke thing, and then we could leave, right? None of it was a big deal, and I could definitely handle it.

"You really want to go?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," I said. I was going to add a joke, but then thought better of it.

"Ok," she said with a smile that completely took my breath away.

_How the hell did I become so pathetically whipped so quickly_?

We finished getting ready, and then it was time to leave.

"I'm really proud of you," Esme whispered to me as Bella and I were walking out the front door.

And that was all it took to flip my switch.

I had no idea why, but her comment really fucking pissed me off. I didn't need or want her praise, and it was just a reminder that I was going down a road that I had no intentions of following through with.

I didn't even realize it, but as I drove onto the highway, I was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles were turning white. I didn't realize it because I was freaking myself out too much, but Bella certainly did take notice.

"Edward, just pull over!" she yelled at me. Apparently she had tried to get my attention a few times, but I was too zoned out to hear her.

"What?" I yelled back.

"You're not even paying attention to the road," she nagged.

"We're fine! Why the hell are you freaking out?" I asked angrily.

"Maybe because I don't want to end up wrapped around a tree!" she screamed.

"Well, I don't want to hear you bitch!" I shouted back.

"If you can't stay in the lines, then just let me drive," she continued.

"Oh fuck, just drop it," I said frustrated.

"I told you that you didn't have to come…"

We bickered all the way to the doctor's office, and when we arrived, I really had to fight the urge to just leave her there.

I sat in the waiting room three chairs away from her, and agitatedly tore through a copy of _Sports Illustrated _without actually reading or seeing anything in it.

"Bella, we're ready for you," a nurse said finally.

"Are you going to come in?" she asked sourly when I didn't get up.

"No," I said coldly.

"Whatever," she said under her breath, and then she followed the nurse inside.

I really didn't know what I was so angry at, but I just couldn't shake it. Everything was pissing me off, even the way the chairs were arranged in the waiting room rubbed me the wrong way.

But then the worst thing that could possibly happen, happened. A woman walked in, carrying one of those baby carrier things, and with all the empty seats in the room, she had to sit right next to me.

_What the hell._

It wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't turn the thing so that the kid was facing me, but she did, and it actually started making noises at me.

"She likes you," the woman said to me.

I scowled bitterly at her comment, but she didn't have time to see it because the receptionist called her up to speak to her. I glanced down briefly, and realized that the bitch actually left her kid there with me.

Uh…

But it really wasn't my problem, so I tried to ignore it; it wasn't like the woman left the room, or anything.

And then my mind started working in overdrive again. I started thinking about how everyone seemed to be so enamored with kids, so I looked back down at the baby and tried to figure out what all the fuss was about. She kept making noises as if she was trying to talk to me or something, but all I could think of then was how ugly she was. She looked like Darth Vader in 'Return of the Jedi' when he was dying and asked Luke to take off his mask. And then I started thinking about how sad it was that people were born and died the same way; helpless with diapers, looking like old shriveled up men. Humans as a species were pretty fucking pathetic.

All of a sudden, for no reason that I could see, the baby just started screaming bloody murder. It was the type of scream that went straight into your fucking brain, and caused an immediate migraine.

"Uh…" I looked up at the woman, but she continued talking away with the receptionist as if the crying wasn't a big deal. "It's ok…" I said awkwardly, and tried to jiggle the carrier to rock the baby to sleep….they liked that sort of thing, _right?_

I vaguely remembered Bree being a baby, and my mother had told me then that all babies liked being rocked. But this kid still wouldn't shut up.

"Um…excuse me!" I called to the woman in almost a panic.

"Sorry about that," the woman said sheepishly as she came back. "She's just hungry," she explained.

I was grateful that all the baby wanted was a bottle and the loud screaming was about to end, but then it happened. The woman started unbuttoning her shirt, and I knew there was no way in hell that I'd be able to sit there while she did that.

I practically ran up to the receptionist. "Uh…my wife is in there, can I go to her?" I asked desperately.

"Sure…Bella right?"

I nodded.

"Ok, room three," she told me.

"Yes, you are hungry, aren't you?" I heard the woman behind me cooing to her baby…_Ugh!_

"Thanks," I said quickly and then hurried inside.

I found room three easy enough, and was surprised to see Bella in there alone. I really thought she would have been almost done by then, but it looked like they hadn't even started yet.

"Hey," Bella said, surprised to see me.

"Hey," I said feeling guilty for my previous fit. "_Sorry,_" I mumbled.

She smiled halfhearted to me, and accepted my lame ass apology. She knew me well enough to know that I don't do apologies very often, so even a mumbled pathetic one was worth something.

"Come and sit," she said and pointed to the chair next to her, so I did.

"What's taking so long?" I asked. I tried my best to sound more curious than annoyed, but I had no idea how well it came out.

"Oh, I'm all finished with the routine exam, this is just the ultrasound," she said, taking me aback.

I looked around the room in pure horror as I noticed all the specialized equipment for the first time. There were computers, and monitors, and a whole hell of a lot of weird shit_. Fucking Esme did that shit to me on purpose._

I stood, and tried to think of an excuse to escape. "Um, I think…." I was about to tell her that I needed to go out for a smoke, but then the doctor walked in.

Fuck.

"Well hello, you must be Edward," she said to me with her hand outstretched. When I didn't shake her hand, she dropped it, and continued introducing herself. "I'm Doctor Kebi; it's nice to finally meet you."

I wasn't trying to be rude, but I had suddenly found myself completely frozen and unable to control any of my motor functions.

"Ok, let's begin, shall we?" she said before going to turn off the lights.

Bella grabbed my hand and pulled me back down so I was sitting where she told me to again, and then she laid back and pulled up her shirt.

The doctor squirted some gel crap on her stomach, then put the stick thing to it…and then a loud swishing thumping noise echoed throughout the room. I understood what the noise was, but I tried to block it from my mind, I really didn't want to hear it.

Bella was still holding my hand, but it wasn't in an affectionate way, it was in restraint. It was as if she knew I wanted nothing more than to bolt from the room, and she was holding me there with every last ounce of energy she had.

"And there's the head," the doctor said, but I still wouldn't look. The Doctor continued to name off body parts, but then she said the one thing that would knock me on my ass.

"Do you still want to know the sex?" she asked Bella.

She must have nodded, because I didn't hear her answer.

"It's a boy."

I felt like my heart stopped. For whatever reason, learning the sex made everything infinitely more real. I couldn't just think of it as some parasite that had invaded Bella's body anymore, and despite sharing those awkward moments with the ugly baby in the waiting room, I couldn't help but be in absolute awe of the monster in the monitor.

_Yeah, I finally looked, I couldn't help it_.

It was definitely odd looking, and resembled some kind of alien more than a human, but it was inside of Bella; it was a part of her, and came from her, so at that moment, it became the most amazing creature in the entire world.

"Oh shit!" I said slightly startled when the baby moved on the screen.

Bella giggled at me, but I couldn't take my eyes off the monitor.

"The fetus is nice and active," the doctor said amused by my outburst. I almost wanted to chew her out for calling my kid a 'fetus', but the bitterness melted away as quickly as it came; nothing could really upset me in that moment.

I was finally able to turn and look at Bella, and she was looking at the monitor with pure adoration plastered all over her face. It was an expression she never let me see before, and I realized that it probably would have sickened me if I saw it without feeling it myself, but I understood her completely. It was amazing, and I knew my life would never be the same.

Suddenly everything made sense. When Carlisle told me that my life had to become about Bella and the baby, it had nothing to do with rules or what was right, it was just a simple fact. It wasn't a choice that I had to make, it chose me and I was absolutely helpless to fight anymore. It was as if I had been running on a conveyer belt all my life, always trying to run in the opposite direction of fate, but eventually, I had to fall off the end.

"Here, put this in the boot and leave it there; that way you won't forget to bring it to the hospital with you when you give birth," the doctor told Bella before handing her some papers of some sort.

"In the boot?" Bella questioned her.

"Oh sorry, I mean the truck. Sometimes I get the words mixed up because _my boyfriend is English_," the doctor explained.

"Oh, ok," Bella said with a smile.

"I'll see you in four weeks," the doctor said before walking out of the room.

I felt like I was hearing their whole conversation from under water, and yet it was all extremely clear at the same time.

We walked out of the office and Bella insisted on driving home, but besides that, we didn't speak. I didn't remember the trip, but when we got there, I knew I needed some time alone to let it all sink in.

"Uh…I'll be back in a little while," I told her before taking the keys from her. She looked confused and maybe even a bit worried, but she didn't say anything and just went into the house.

I drove absently for awhile, and wound up at the beach. I got out and stood on the sand dunes, and just tried to consider my life.

I couldn't be what Bella needed me to be, I just didn't have it in me…except, what if I could? What if I didn't have to leave after graduation; what if I stayed and just became what everyone hoped I'd be? Not just playing a part and pretending to be good, but really and truly becoming the guy Bella needed, and actually be happy.

Maybe I could do it. Maybe I could be content as just being Bella's husband and raising our son together. Maybe I could go to college locally and make something of myself; support my family respectably and live a normal life. Maybe we'd have more kids, and we'd have family BBQs and I'd coach little league…maybe Bella and I would end up one of those little old couples, still holding hands eighty years later…

But maybe I'd find myself stagnant and resenting my life, maybe I'd become distant and Bella would want to leave me, and maybe I'd snap and find a gun, maybe….

"UGH!" I yelled out loud, and aggressively threw a rock towards the sea.

I didn't know what to do, but it was clear in that moment what I wanted. I wanted my family, I wanted Bella and my baby, but I knew they deserved so much better.

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><p><strong>***Poor Edward, so conflicted. Lol<strong>

**I'm not going to assume to know how everyone will react anymore. I learned my lesson with the last chapter, so please enlighten me and REVIEW! ;p**


	13. Trust and Balance

**Unintended**

A/N: LOL! Most people got my KStew shout out in the last chapter. It was a happy day for all Robsten shippers, was it not? I just had to add it in order to celebrate and I'm glad you all caught it….Besides, 'my boyfriend is English' too…._I wish_ - ;p

_SPOILERish_ – to those concerned about a certain important detail in the last chapter that contradicts the second banner, don't worry, it was not an oversight. Everything was done on purpose and will be explained later.

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><p>~Chapter 13 – <em>Trust and<em> _Balance_~

I didn't know what I was going to do, but I decided to put the future in my pocket, and save it for a later date. I needed to stay focused on the moment, and that's what I fully intended on doing.

When I walked in the door, Esme was there and looked at me with a huge sheepish grin. "Hi honey, how'd it go?" she asked.

I glared at her, but it broke quickly and melted into a smile. Despite not knowing where I was going to be a year from then, it was still pretty amazing to get a chance to see my baby, and I couldn't deny it.

"I knew you would love it," she gloated while wrapping her arm around my shoulder and squeezing me.

"Yeah, yeah," I admitted. "Where's Bella?"

"Oh, I just got home, I didn't realize you separated," she said.

"Yeah well, I needed a breather," I told her.

She nodded in understanding. "Check upstairs. She gets tired around this time," she suggested.

"Thanks," I said, and then ran upstairs to look for her.

Not wanting to wake her if she was sleeping, I opened the door slowly and peeked in. She was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, but she wasn't sleeping. Her head was bobbing and I could see a cord streaming down from her ears. Her feet were moving along with the music, and then she started humming.

So, I did what I had been doing quite often lately, I watched her in awe. None of life's shit was getting to her in that moment; she was just in her own little world and enjoying time to herself.

But I guess watching her wasn't enough, because the next thing I knew, I was sitting on the bed next to her, with my lips at her neck.

She suddenly became very still, but when I pulled back briefly I could see the smile playing on her lips. But then I noticed something peculiar – _were there actually headphones on her stomach?_

I pulled out her ear buds which made her turn and scowl playfully at me. "Hey," she protested.

"Why do you have headphones on your stomach?" I asked with a clueless smile.

"The book says that the baby likes music," she said factually.

Had it been the day before, I would have rolled my eyes and busied myself with something else, but now her comment amused me more than I could hide.

"Ok well, what do you have my son listening to?" I asked, which made her mouth drop. I ignored her reaction, and brought one of her ear buds to my ear to hear what she was listening to….

It was fucking Katy Perry…_Oh, hell no!_

I pulled the headphones off her stomach as quickly as I could.

"Hey!" she said again.

"Babe, there is no way I'm going to let my kid listen to that shit," I told her teasingly.

"The book says that the words don't matter, it's the music beats and melody that the baby responds to," she said defensively with a grin.

"Ok, then let's get some Fifty in here, or Eminem," I said while shuffling through her iPod. "What is all this crap?" I asked after a minute.

"It's not crap!" she said lightly offended.

"Uh–huh. For now on, my kid only listens to _Edward approved_ music; understand?" I asked while trying to keep a straight face.

"Sure," she said with a giggle. "Won't happen again."

And then I did something that I had never done before, I reached my hand out and placed it lightly on her stomach….and then it moved.

"Oh wow," I said quietly.

"He likes the sound of your voice," she murmured.

I continued rubbing her stomach to try to feel more movement, but after a minute of nothing, I decided to finally respond to her comment. "No, he's just grateful that I saved him from that torturous music…Aren't you buddy," I said into her stomach, and then there was another kick. "Ooo! See, I told you!" I shouted excitedly.

"You believe what you want, and I'll believe what I _know_," she disagreed.

_God, she was beautiful._

I stared at her face for a moment, and I couldn't stop myself from leaning in to kiss her. I meant it as a short peck, but it deepened into something much more passionate. Suddenly, I couldn't get close enough to her, and yet, it really had nothing to do with sex. I wanted to be inside her, but it wasn't purely a physical thing like I had always pretended it was in the past.

I slowly began unbuttoning her pants, but I really expected her to stop me. She always upheld her rule of her being the one in control, so if she didn't initiate it, it wasn't going to happen; but that time, she didn't push me away.

She kissed me and touched me where she wanted, but she actually held back and let me lead for the first time since our first night together. She actually seemed to want me to be the dominate one, and I was more than willing.

I had surprisingly grown to love being more submissive, but I just realized that it was only because it was all she allowed. I had forgotten my own natural preferences, because I was so addicted to her that I was willing to take anything she would give; she had that much of a hold on me. But in that moment, it was all different. The level of power had shifted into one that was more balanced, and I knew without a doubt that it was done consciously on her part. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she waited until she trusted me enough to give me that freedom back.

As I touched and moved her in the way I wanted, I actually felt so deeply honored to be given her trust again, that I felt like I was going to burst out of my skin and shoot light out of every pore of my body….yeah, I was pathetic, but I didn't give a fuck.

I removed my shirt because _I _wanted to, not because she demanded it; I wanted to be as close to her as I could possibly get. I lifted her leg over my hip so I could bury myself deeper inside her, and although our connection wasn't really stronger than it was before, it was the first time that I could actually understand it. I belonged with her, in her, on her, and every other way two people could be tied together, and I knew that I'd never deny it again.

After making love to her slowly and deeply passionate, I held her in my arms and wondered how I could have ever been anything other than that. For the life of me, I didn't understand how I could have possibly treated her badly or been as mean as I was.

What was between us was intensely complex, but it was also soft and simple. We were just two people who took a rocky path to get to where we were, and I was humbled and extremely grateful that we made it.

I didn't have a doubt about what caused the change. It wasn't the baby or learning it was a boy, because I felt exactly the same way about Bella as I did before, but it was the realization that perhaps I could step up and take what was mine. Just the possibility of that was all I needed to let myself feel what was already there. We never talked about the shift in our relationship, but we didn't have to either. We both just knew that everything was different, it was fact, and there was no hiding it anymore.

When we went to school that Monday, our new found devotion didn't pause. When we passed by each other between third and fourth periods, as we always did, I brushed her hand and she did something that nearly knocked me off my feet…she smiled widely at me.

Instead of continuing on like I hadn't noticed her, I stopped dead in my tracks and ignored everyone else as they passed by. She continued to walk a few steps, but then she glanced behind herself and saw me standing there, so she turned back around and walked towards me, and right into my waiting arms.

I just held her for an endless moment, and then the last of her 'rules' disappeared as we kissed each other passionately right there in the busy hall.

At lunch that day however, I automatically went to sit with my friends in the cafeteria, and she with hers, but I stared at her the entire time, just aching to be closer.

"Dude, just go be with her if that's what you want," Garrett said abruptly.

"Huh?"

"Come on, it's so fucking obvious. It's not like you're hiding anything," he explained.

"Yeah, can you hook me up with that blonde chick she hangs with?" Peter asked.

"That's Charlotte," I said automatically. I knew all of Bella's friends, and even though I had never really met any of them personally, I made a point to know everything about them; their names, schedules, where they lived…._yeah, I was obsessed_.

"Well, come on bro, hook it up," Peter urged.

I was never waiting for their permission, or cared what they _or anyone_ thought, but their comments did make me wonder why the hell I wasn't with her.

I stood and walked right over to Bella's group, but her back was turned and she didn't see me coming. If it had been a week earlier, I knew what I was about to do would have pissed her off, but everything was different now.

She was standing there talking to her friends, so I gently wrapped my arms around her from behind, and she immediately relaxed into me as if my presence wasn't a surprise. Then again, she did always know me better than I knew myself, so perhaps she was waiting for me.

I kissed her neck, and ignored all the giggles from her friends. I didn't care, and neither did she. She eventually did pull away, but it was only to turn herself to be facing me, and then we were kissing.

The only thing that made us stop, was the not so subtle throat clearings from behind me. If I thought it was just a random person being rude or mean, I wouldn't have paid attention, but I knew exactly who it was…._fucking Peter. _

"Peter is desperate to talk to Charlotte," I told Bella loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Oh," Bella said surprised, so she turned and grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her forward. And that was all it took. The seemingly shy girl stood there and twirled her hair flirtatiously, as Peter began talking her ear off. Garrett and Randall started mingling as well, so Bella and I took off.

We made our debut as an official couple, and now we wanted some alone time.

We found an empty classroom, and I shut and locked the door behind us.

"Why, Mr. Masen, are you trying to seduce me?" she asked with faux innocence.

"I don't know…Are you seducible?" I asked seductively.

"It seems that I am…when it comes to you," she said with a smile, and then attached herself to me; her lips, her hands, even her legs were somehow twisted around mine. I lifted her so she was sitting on a table, and she responded by wrapping her legs around my waist.

"This position doesn't work," she said with a laugh, and she was right. There was no way for me to get past her pants. But my jeans were getting increasingly tight, and if I didn't find a way to make it work, I knew I was in for an extremely uncomfortably day.

So I gently pulled her back up to a standing position, and she waited for me to take the lead. God, I loved that. I hesitantly guided her down so she was leaning over the table, and I was behind her. We never did that position before, so I wished more than anything that I knew what she was thinking, but she never showed an ounce of negativity towards it, so I continued.

I reached around and unbuttoned her pants, before sliding them down past her hips. It really was the best position for the scenario, it was one of the only few ways were she didn't have to remove her pants all the way, thus removing her shoes. With it being in somewhat a public place, we needed to make a quick getaway if necessary.

I unbuttoned my pants as well, and then rubbed my hands down her back as a show of affection, before grabbing a hold of her hips and pushing into her. I realized in that moment that it didn't matter what position we were in, because she felt agonizingly good from all angles. As I pumped into her, she gripped the side of the table to steady herself, and then she moved her body in a way that made each of my thrusts intensify… _pure bliss._

We moved together until we were both tightening uncontrollably, and when the following release exploded inside us, I had to let go of her and brace myself onto the table in order to not fall over. It was one of those amazing climaxes that spread throughout the entire body and made the toes curl, and my knees weakened from intensity of it.

When I had better control of myself again, I rubbed her back once more and asked "Are you ok?"

It was actually our first time having sex when we weren't completely naked, and as backwards as it sounded, it actually brought another new level of trust to our relationship.

"Never better," she said after I pulled out of her. We both redid our pants, and then we refastened our arms around each other, and replanted our lips together. Our kiss was intense and passionate, and if we didn't stop soon, we'd be wonderfully forced into a second round….but then the door handle jiggled.

"It's ok, it's locked," I assured her, so we resumed kissing. Our hands were all over each other, under our shirts, and up and down our skin.

But then the door opened.

We didn't even have time to pull away before whoever it was caught us…It was Mr. Banner. Fuck. He had to have had keys because I was sure that I locked it, but it didn't really matter at that moment, because we were in a lot of trouble.

When he saw us, thankfully we both had our pants on, but her hands were under my shirt, and mine were at her breasts…._and it was all worth it_.

As Bella and I were sitting in the office awaiting our sentencing, I couldn't stop smiling.

"Stop," Bella whispered to me with a backhand to my gut.

"I can't," I said while smiling even bigger.

She scowled at me, but of course it broke and she started giggling. "What do you think our punishment will be?" she asked lightly.

"I don't know…but I hope its suspension. I can think of a lot of things to do with our time off," I told her in a scheming tone.

"You are definitely a bad influence," she said while shaking her head and grinning.

"You're not the first person to have said that," I agreed.

We both looked up as Esme walked past us with a disappointed expression on her face. I glanced at Bella and she looked embarrassed, so I did my best attempt to convey innocence, but Esme just shook her head and smirked at us.

The three of us walked into the principal's office, and had to discuss our crime with him.

"So, Mr. Banner said he caught you two in a compromising position?" the principal asked.

"We were just kissing. I didn't know there was a crime against that?" I spoke up quickly.

"He said it looked like you two were about to go much further than that," the principal disputed.

"No, we weren't," I told him honestly. We had just _finished _going much further, not 'about to'. Well, I suppose we may have done it again if we weren't interrupted, but I wasn't about to tell him that. "Besides, why would we need to have sex at school? We're married, we live together, there's no reason why we wouldn't be able to wait until we got home."

"Look, I know your situation, but it's already bad enough for the student body to have a pregnant teen at school, we have only allowed you to stay because you two are, in fact, married. But, I don't want this type of behavior here. If a fellow student walked in on you instead of a faculty member, it would have been a lot worse," he said.

"The door was locked," I said unintentionally.

He stared at me for a moment. I practically just admitted what we were doing, and he knew it. "Nevertheless, this doesn't happen in this school again. Do you understand?" he asked us.

"Yes," Bella said quietly.

"Of course," I said with a big fake grin.

"Thank you Mrs. Cullen, for meeting with us," he told Esme.

"Sure thing. And my husband and I will have a talk with them more about this when we get home this afternoon," Esme assured him.

"Thank you," he said again, and then they shook hands.

Esme was all talk; Bella and I both knew she wasn't angry at us. If anything, Esme was probably thrilled that we were so consumed with each other that we couldn't wait until we were home before connecting in that way. So, we weren't worried.

Bella and I kissed, and then separated to go to our next class.

We continued to spend our lunch hour together every day, and sometimes we'd hang with our newly combined group of friends, but most of the time we preferred to take that time to ourselves. We would find a table in the corner of the cafeteria so we could be as alone as possible, but one particularly rainy day, we had some unwelcomed company.

"Alice, go find your own table," I told her after her and her friends sat with us without even asking.

"Oh come on, it's pouring out so it's over crowded in here. Can't I share a table with my loving brother and sister in law?" she asked with batting eyes and a sickly sweet smile.

"Of course you guys can stay," Bella said quickly. So, I suddenly found myself surrounded by a bunch of giggling obnoxious girls, and I wondered what the hell happened to my life, and I wasn't the only one…

"Hey Eddie, nice new gang you got there," Laurence snickered as he passed our table.

"Hey douche, fuck off!" I yelled back at him. A major part of me wanted to leap at him and beat him down, before demanding my fucking car back, but it all seemed inconsequential right then. It was obvious that I had won that fucking bet, and I had proof sitting right next to me, but bringing it back up would have just been detrimental to my relationship with Bella.

I used to think my marriage and coming baby was my punishment for such poor judgment and cruel behavior of the past, but I now understood that Carlisle was right, it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I did win after all, and got the best prize imaginable…but I still deserved to pay for my misdeeds, and if losing my car was the price and the worst thing that came out of the entire ordeal, than it was worth it.

But after accepting my feelings for Bella, and going public with our devotion, a new emotion that I hadn't expected slowly began creeping in…_paranoia_.

I suddenly found myself constantly scanning the crowds whenever Bella and I were together. I was in no way embarrassed to be seen with her, but I became extremely overprotective and always on the lookout for someone or something that could possibly threaten my new life.

"Watch where you are fucking going!" I yelled at some jock one day, who stepped a little too close to Bella as I was walking her to class.

"Edward, calm down," she told me while squeezing my hand reassuringly.

"That son of a bitch almost walked right into you," I said through gritted teeth.

"But he didn't, and I'm fine," she insisted.

And then it got worse.

Bella was late to meet me at lunch, so I went to look for her. She was casually talking to some geek about some assignment they had, and I completely flipped a lid.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked her angrily.

If I was in my right mind, I would have seen how obvious it was that she had no interest in the guy whatsoever, but I wasn't in my right mind. I saw everything as a threat, and I was becoming out of control.

"I'm not doing anything," she said angrily back.

"It doesn't look like you're not doing anything, it looks like this guy has a thing for you and you're leading him on!" I shouted.

_What the fuck was wrong with me?_

Bella looked at the scared nerdy kid who had to be a foot shorter than her, and then she looked back at me incredulously, before shaking her head and walking away.

"Where the hell are you going?" I asked as I chased after her.

"You know what Edward, I've had enough of this," she said without stopping.

"Oh, so now what, you're going to leave me?" I asked heatedly. It was as if I was watching and hearing myself from the outside, and I had no idea how to stop it.

"No Edward, but you need some serious therapy," she told me calmly.

"Oh yeah, well fuck you!" I said completely pissed off. Who the hell did she think she was saying that shit to me….except the truth was that she was right; I did need to get my head examined.

She had an afterschool meeting of some sort that day, so she got a ride home from one of her friends, and when she got there, I had some serious groveling to do.

She came into our room where I was, and sat in the rocking chair, and just waited for me to make my move.

"Bella, I am so sorry," I told her heavily. "I really don't know what came over me today."

"You need help Edward. You have some serious anger issues and separation anxieties. If you don't want to help yourself, then do it for…."

"I made an appointment with a psychologist that Carlisle knows," I interrupted her.

"You did?" she asked stunned. It was obvious that she was expecting me to put up a bigger fight on the subject.

"Bella, I'm scared," I admitted. "I'm afraid of losing you…of losing control of myself and snapping the way…" I let my sentence trail off. The last thing I wanted was for her to become terrified of me.

"Edward, you are _not_ your dad," she said sternly, knowing exactly what I was going to say. "And I'm not afraid of you. But what happened in your past is still affecting you, and if you don't want it to ruin your future, then you need to take care of it now. It won't be fixed alone."

"I went to therapy in the past and it didn't help, but I never had a reason to really try to get better before…but I do now," I told her seriously.

"If you want me to go with you, I can," she said softly.

I was actually blown away by her offer. I didn't understand how anyone could possibly be willing to sit through something like that, but Bella had quickly become my rock. She was the person who listened to all my deepest inquisitions and internal struggles, and the only one who I truly felt I could trust.

But I needed to try to fix myself.

"It means a lot that you would do that for me, but I think I should to try to do it on my own. Let me just see how it goes, and if I feel like I can't make it through alone, maybe then…"

She smiled and wove her fingers with mine.

"I'm here _when_ you need me," she stated.

"I know."

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><p><strong>***Once again, I'm trying to push the story along quicker now. I don't like to waste time with boring conversations and meaningless details. Everything written has a purpose to the overall plot, and that's the way I like to write. I want to find out exactly what's going to happen just as much as you do, so I'm always pushing towards the ultimate goal – a HEA<strong>

**A ways still left to go, but the end of the first part of this story is definitely looming :-O**

**Please Review!**


	14. Cradle and All

**Unintended**

A/N: I just wanted to urge everyone to check out the newest banner on my profile. It was made by the amazingly talented _**Ro Nordmann**_, and it completely puts my other banners to shame (in the best possible way). Don't worry, no spoilers, but it is definitely worth checking out, _it's really HOT!_ ;)

_*Thanks so much Ro, I really appreciate it!_

On with the drama… (eek!)

**This is it. This is what I like to call the 'Moon Scars' chapter. For those who have not read 'Moon Scars', basically what occurred was something in that story happened, which pissed off a lot of readers, and I got hate mail and even death threats from it. Many people stopped reading, but the ones who pushed through the hard chapters, were definitely **_**not**_** disappointed. I HATE when stories turn in such a way that it's impossible for the main characters to reconnect, and I LOATHE cheating, so just remember that when reading this.**

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><p>~Chapter 14 – <em>Cradle and All<em>~

"_Rock a bye baby, on the tree top,  
>when the wind blows, the cradle will rock,<br>when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,  
>and down will come baby, cradle and all." <em>

"What the hell kind of nursery rhyme is this anyway?" I asked completely baffled by the disturbing words. "Who the hell would put their baby in a tree, and then let them fall out?"

"Haven't you noticed that most kid's stories, rhymes, and fairytales are actually quite scary?" Bella asked me amused.

"No, they're all about princesses and beanstalks," I disagreed.

"Right, with evil queens and giants who try to kill them," she reminded me.

"Oh….fuck!" I said in realization.

"You know, eventually, you're going to have to stop saying that word," she chided me.

I nodded. "I know, so I better get it all out of my system now. Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, cock, balls, bitch, skank, douche, fucker, son of a bitch, ass, prick, dick, fuck, fucking, fuck, tits, fuck….." I continued on, but she quickly lost amusement and left the room.

"I have an announcement," Emmett said that night during dinner.

"Well, the floor is yours, son," Carlisle said with a smile.

"Rosalie and I are engaged!" he said excitedly.

And then all the girls erupted into applause and blood curdling shrilling.

"Congratulations," I told Emmett and Rose seriously, when the others calmed.

"Well thanks, bro" he said, touched by my sincerity. Emmett and I had definitely had a lot of problems in the past, but like any real brothers, we actually cared about each other and he overlooked all the crap I had done; to which I was grateful.

"Oh, I'm just so lucky to have two amazing women for my daughter in laws," Esme said with tears rolling down her face. She got up and kissed Rose, before continuing on to kiss Bella.

"Ok, we have to start wedding plans right away," Alice jumped in. "When's the date?"

"We just got engaged, we haven't decided any of that stuff just yet," Rose said with a smile.

"It's never too early to start going to wedding shows though," Alice said before going for her laptop to start researching wedding crap.

"Rose honey, it is ok for you to tell her 'no'," Esme told her.

"It's ok. I usually love all of Alice's ideas," Rose said quickly before heading in the direction Alice had run off to.

"Come on Bella, let's go do girly things with them," Esme said before grabbing Bella's arm and following after Rose.

"Man, it's too bad Jasper isn't still here. He's the only one who could ever rein Alice in," Emmett commented.

"I'm sure it'll all work itself out," Carlisle said reassuringly.

Later that night, when Bella and I were lying in bed, I started thinking about Rose and Em. "Are you ok?" I asked her.

"Is that like your favorite question, or something?" she asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess I do ask you that a lot, don't I?" I said. "I just was thinking about all the wedding plans, and…you didn't really get a chance to do any of that," I said hesitantly.

"To be honest, I never really wanted a big wedding," she said carelessly.

"You sure? 'Cause maybe sometime we could…I don't know, like do it all over. Maybe next year; or whenever we get more settled," I suggested.

"Next year?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow. We had never really talked about the future, and we were both surprised by how easily I mentioned it.

But who the hell was I kidding with all the uncertainties anyway? There was no way I could leave, especially not since I was actively getting help every week.

As much as I still didn't think my therapy sessions were working, I believed that if I was ever close to snapping the way my father had, my psychologist could help spot the warning signs.

"Well, I think that maybe we should start considering what we're going to do after graduation," I continued. "I mean, the baby will be born by then, so we need to have some kind of plan. We can't exactly stay here forever…though I bet Esme would enjoy that."

"Are you kidding, she'd build on a new wing of the house for us if we asked," Bella agreed.

"You're probably right."

Bella never really knew her mother, so Esme stepped up and took on that role in Bella's life. They had become very close over the past few months, and I knew Bella really had grown to think of all the Cullens as her family.

Over the next couple of weeks, our bedroom had slowly gone from looking somewhat like the room I had put together when I was thirteen, to a place I didn't even recognize. My blue stripped comforter and window covers were replaced with purple ones that Bella picked out, and the far wall of the room was completely decked out in baby stuff. There was a crib and changing table with wall hangy stuff; all draped in teddy bears and airplanes…_it was actually pretty cute, not that I'd ever say that out loud_.

Bella had just entered her third trimester, and she was already wishing it was over. She was achy and had a hard time sleeping, though she never complained. We were both anxious for the birth to come, and the fact that we were signed up for birthing classes just added to the stress. After one class however, Bella decided she didn't want to go back. The movie terrified the shit out of both of us, and Bella said she'd rather be unprepared than be overly scared from knowing what was to come.

The stress was definitely always there, the whole house felt it, but Bella and I still rarely argued. I had done enough shit to hurt her in the past, so the last thing I ever wanted to do was upset her in any way, especially at that point in her pregnancy. Of course, the fact that I had quit smoking cold turkey didn't help my nerves either. But I was determined to do everything I could to make our lives ready for the baby to change us once again, and smoking was just one of the things that I needed to change.

_*Rock a bye baby, on the tree top…._

"So, do you guys have a name picked out for your little guy?" Bella's friend Angela asked one afternoon. Bella had a few of her friends over for some kind of study group, and I was trying to keep my distance so they could focus, but they were on a snack break so I figured a visit from me was acceptable.

"Uh…" Bella looked at me flabbergasted. We never even discussed names, and by the look on her face, it was clear that she hadn't even thought about it either.

"We're keeping it secret," I said quickly.

"Oh, that's cool," Angela replied.

"Yeah, well we just don't want to consider anyone else's opinions before making our decision," I continued. "We want to pick out a name that _we_ like, and not worry about anything else."

I had no idea how the hell I pulled that one out of my ass, but I actually impressed myself with it.

Bella smiled at me, and then the girls continued with their girly chatter, so I decided to leave then.

But that evening, when we were alone, Bella and I knew we couldn't keep neglecting the subject any longer.

"So, what are we going to name him?" I asked as I rubbed her stomach tenderly.

She took a deep breath. "Well, what do you like?"

"How about…Zeppelin?" I said out of nowhere.

She laughed. "Zeppelin...like_ Led_ Zeppelin?"

"What's wrong with that?" I asked playfully offended.

"Sorry, it's not going to happen," she said assuredly.

"Ok, ok, what about you? What wonderful name have you come up with?" I asked curiously.

Suddenly she became uneasy, and even a bit antsy.

"What?" I asked getting slightly worried.

"Well, I have an idea…and the more I've thought about it, the more it just seems to fit and I can't possibly think of our baby with any other name," she said anxiously.

"Babe, obviously I'm clueless when it comes to names," I said with a laugh. "So, whatever you want, that's what it'll be," I told her doubtlessly.

She took another deep breath, and for the life of me, I had no idea what she was worried about.

"I really want his name to be _Edward_," she said reluctantly.

_*When the wind blows, the cradle will rock…_

The moment the name left her lips, all the blood went rushing out of my face, leaving me feeling completely numb. It was stupid. I heard that name every day, a hundred times a day; it was my name, and yet, the thought of naming my kid that absolutely infuriated me.

"That was my _father's _name," I said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, but I thought having a third would be really…special," she said defensively.

"So…my dad was a freak, I definitely have issues, and now you're just automatically expecting our kid to be that way because it has our DNA?" I asked heatedly.

"What does his name have anything to do with that?" she asked upset.

"My father _killed_ my family, Bella. And now you want to name our KID AFTER HIM!" I shouted.

It was another one of those uncontrollable moments. I knew my anger was wrong and misplaced, I had been working on that very issue with my therapist, but I couldn't stop it.

"I have been working like hell to move past what that bastard did, and now you're shoving him back in my face," I fumed.

"No…that's not what I meant…" she said with tears pooling in her eyes.

"No? Then what did you fucking mean?" I asked callously.

"I just thought it would be nice for the baby to carry on your family name," she cried.

"I don't have a fucking family name, because I don't have a family anymore! That monster, _who you so lovingly want to name our kid after_, killed everyone I cared about, and destroyed my entire life!" I said irately.

"I'm sorr..." she started, but I didn't want to hear it.

"Don't fucking apologize to me!" I screamed.

"Whoa, what's going on in here?" Emmett barged into the room to ask.

"Nothing," I said bitterly before pushing past him and storming out.

My rage was completely blinding me, but I knew enough to realize that I needed some time to clear my head. I grabbed my cell, which was thankfully on the kitchen table, and I practically ran out of the house. I texted Garrett to come pick me up, but I couldn't get a hold of him. So I continued to walk down the street while I tried my other friends…but no one answered.

My brain kept telling me to calm down, go back, and apologize to Bella, but believe it or not, I was actually doing what my therapist told me to do. He said that if my anger ever became too much, that I needed to take a break and get away from the situation until I was calm enough to handle it, and that's what I was trying to do.

But unless I could find someone to drive me somewhere to unwind for awhile, I had no idea what the hell I was going to do.

I was desperate, so I looked through my cell contacts, and pulled up the last person I could think of who could possibly help me.

James.

We hadn't talked in awhile, but he had been my best friend since junior high, so I thought maybe he'd be willing to look past all the crap we pulled on each other over the past several months, and I texted him for help.

**I'll be right there** – James texted me back.

I was shocked that he was so quick to come to my aid, especially because of what I did the last time we really spoke, but James had always been there for me in the past, so I figured that maybe it was our chance to mend our friendship.

"Hey," James said coldly as I opened his car door to get in.

"Hey," I replied. "Thanks for coming. I know I was an ass the last time…"

"It's fine," he interrupted me. "So, where do you want to go?"

I shrugged. I had already calmed myself down a bit while I waited for him, and the guilt of my outburst was already heavy on my mind, so I knew I couldn't be gone long. Besides, it was getting late and Bella always needed me to rub out her lower back so she could sleep, and I didn't want her to tire herself by waiting up.

"You know, let's just go to the docks for a few," I suggested.

I actually really used to enjoy the docks at night, but that was before my life had altered so drastically, so I wondered how I would feel about the place now.

When we got there however, I just wanted to go home right away. That was my old life, and I needed to get back to my new one.

"I really appreciate this, but can you just take me back home?" I asked him.

"Yeah, no problem," he said with a strange tone.

"So J, how have you been?" I asked him uncomfortably as he drove towards my house. I really didn't know what to say to him anymore, but he came to help me, so I was going to try to see if our friendship was salvageable.

"Oh, you know, just hanging with Laurence still…nothing new," he told me.

I nodded. "So…do you have a girlfriend, or anything?" I asked him…trying unsuccessfully to make small talk.

"Yeah actually," he said excitedly.

"Really? Who?" I asked, trying my best to be interested.

"Oh, you don't know her…she doesn't go to school with us."

"Ok, what's her name?" I asked.

"Oh shit!" he said unexpectedly.

"What?"

"I forgot that I was supposed to be somewhere right now," he said.

"Oh, sorry for keeping you, man."

"No, it's not your fault. But I need to go now," he told me in a rush.

"Ok, can you take me home first?" I asked after realizing that he had turned to go in the opposite direction as my house.

"No, I don't have time. This will only take a minute, and then I'll take you home," he assured me.

…_._

The next thing I knew, I was waking up with the sun blaring on my face in a room I didn't recognize, and I had no memory of how I got there. I had no idea where I was, my head was pounding, and I had never been so confused in my entire life.

"Hello?" I said groggily, hoping someone would come in and enlighten me as to where the hell I was.

I unsteadily got to my feet, and tried to walk out of the room, but then I started violently vomiting all over the floor until my stomach was completely empty.

Even though I didn't know where I was, I definitely remembered the feeling I was experiencing. I was fucking wasted, and from a really bad trip at that.

_What the fuck did I do?_

I tried to remember the night before, but everything was a blur, and my head was pounding so badly that it was absolutely impossible to think straight anyway.

I finally made my way out of the house I was in, and out into the bright morning…or was it afternoon? I waited for my eyes to adjust, and even though it only made my head hurt even worse, I looked around to try to figure out where the hell I was. I didn't see anyone, so I just started walking, hoping to find a sign or landmark that could help me. Finally, I came across an intersection.

_How the hell did I end up in Port Angeles?_

Luckily, I had my cell in my pocket, but it was almost out of battery so I only had enough time to make one phone call, so I had to make it wisely.

"Yo?" Emmett answered.

"Emmett, I need help…."

I sat on a bench and waited for Emmett to arrive, but it took so freaking long, that I actually fell asleep as I sat there.

"Wake up, dipshit!" Emmett said finally. I opened my eyes, and then dragged myself into his car. "Where the hell have you been for the last two days?" he asked me furiously.

"Two days?" I asked flabbergasted.

"Yeah, what the fuck, man? We've all been worried like hell, never mind the stress Bella's had."

"Shit," I breathed as I rubbed my face roughly. "Emmett, I know I've done a lot of fucked up shit, but I swear, I have no idea what happened."

"Bella's really not going to buy that shit," he said pitilessly.

"But it's true," I said exasperated.

"Whatever."

We drove home in silence, but on top of my painful ass migraine and upset stomach, I was absolutely horrified about how Bella was going to react.

When we got there however, Bella did something I never expected. She ran to me, and wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face into my chest.

"God, I was so worried," she cried.

I wrapped myself around her and breathed in her scent, thanking god and all that was holy, that I didn't lose her over whatever the hell happened.

"Babe, I'm so sorry," I mumbled into her hair as I kissed her head.

"It doesn't matter," she said with tears streaming down her face. "You're home now, and everything's ok."

After I showered, I spent the next few hours telling her absolutely everything I knew. I refused to lie to her about any of it, and thankfully, she believed me.

"So, James did something to you?" she asked anxiously.

"No…well, maybe…I have no idea," I said honestly.

"What exactly happened between you and him?" she asked. She obviously knew about the bet, but I never told her the entire story, so we spent the rest of the day talking about it. I told her absolutely everything, and after I finally got it all out, her response surprised me. She was troubled about it all, but the fact that I lost my car both pleased her, and made her extremely sad at the same time. She was happy that I paid for my indecency towards her, but she regretted that the price was something that belonged to my mother. She knew what that meant, and she cared enough about me to be sad for my loss.

We actually took the next couple days off school as well, and really took that time to talk about anything and everything. We didn't have sex the entire time, we used every last minute of those days to try to get everything out in the open.

I told her all the shit I had done; the worst of the worst, and she just listened. For the first time in my life, I was able to unload all the crap, and I was never once judged.

"I really don't deserve you," I told her honestly, without a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

She looked at me intensely, and then leaned in to wrap her arms around me. "I know how much pain you carry inside you all the time," she said without letting go. "But it can't continue like this. You need to fix all of this before it destroys all of us."

"I'm getting therapy," I said quickly, feeling desperate by the way she seemed to be telling me goodbye. I was so close to losing her, I could feel it, and it was absolutely terrifying the shit out of me. "I know, that I screwed up. I know that I deserve nothing more than for you to leave my ass and never look back. I have hurt you more than I have ever hurt anyone, and I hate myself every single minute of every day…but I _need_ you. Please, just give me one last chance, and I swear, I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."

She was quiet for a long torturous moment, and then she sighed. "I don't want to be away from you," she said hopelessly. I waited for the 'but', but it didn't come. Thank god. I didn't understand why Bella kept giving me chance after chance, but then again, there was a lot about Bella that I was still discovering on a daily basis.

We tried to get back to normal after that, but even as the weeks continued to pass, there was always a subtle amount of strain left between us. We both did our best to ignore it; we played, laughed, made love, and spent hours just basking in each other's presence, but every once in awhile, it would hit us. It never caused a fight, but it was just a level of sadness that washed over us, just as quiet as a summer breeze, but we both felt it.

"And when you feel that sadness, what do you do?" Dr. Amun asked me during our session. Dr. Amun was my therapist, and I had been doubling up on my appointments lately. Since the baby's due date was almost upon us, and with my recent unaccountable two days, I figured it was best to try to get as much of my brain examined as possible.

I shook my head. "I just try to push it away. It leaves as quickly as it comes, but…I'm starting to think that maybe it's always there. Even when I don't notice it, it's always looming in the distance."

"And that's what we need to focus on. We need to start with the very core of who you are, because if you build a house on a cracked foundation, one small earthquake can bring it all crumbling down," he explained. "I know you've been working really hard on all this lately, and that's wonderful, but I really think it would be beneficial for you and Bella to go into couple's therapy as well."

"Dr. Amun….am I going to lose her?" I asked feeling like I was punched in the gut. "Please, just give me your honest opinion."

"Well, it's not my place to give _opinions_….but from what you've told me, I think that she is a very strong young woman, and she seems dedicated to seeing you through this healing process…but the rest is up to you. You know what she needs from you, so, just do it."

I nodded in understanding, and then our session was over for the day.

…

The weather shifted, and the rain and fog turned into sleet and snow. The ground was blanketed with white, and Christmas decorations filled the streets….and our baby was due on December twenty eighth.

Bella and I were both scared shitless knowing how close it was coming, but I had also never been so excited in all my life.

My walk in closet was cut in half again, except this time it was filled with baby clothes. While looking in my multiuse closet, I wondered if there was anything blue left in the stores, because it was obvious that Alice, Rose, and Esme had purchased every baby blue article of clothing they could find for the coming addition to our family.

"Hey Bella?" I said as she walked past.

"Yeah?"

"What's this?" I asked her.

She smiled. "It's an elf costume," she stated the obvious.

"Yeah, but why is it in newborn size?" I asked puzzled. "You're not due until _after_ Christmas, so what's the point to this?"

"Esme said there's always a possibility of the baby coming early," she explained.

"Oh god, I hope not," I said honestly. I was nervous enough without having to worry about the baby coming before we were absolutely ready.

Bella smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Everything is going to happen the way it's supposed to," she said while hugging me.

"For once, I wish I had your faith," I told her.

We had yet to settle on a name, and decided to wait until he was born before figuring it out. Bella was convinced that once we saw him, we'd know, and I trusted her judgment.

We had one week left of school before Christmas break, and we were actually pretty lucky about the timing of it all. If the baby came on time, we figured we'd only have to miss a week or two before going back to school afterwards. Esme was already setting up a nanny for us when we did go back, and everything was falling into place.

_*When the bough breaks_…..

"Edward, I need to talk to you," someone said from behind me at lunch. It was a Wednesday, and we only had two more days until vacation, but it seemed fate had other plans.

"Oh, what the fuck do you want?" I asked tiredly. I was so stressed and anxious over the coming events, that I just didn't want to deal with any shit right then.

"It's important," she said with attitude.

"Damn it Vicky, whatever the hell you want to talk to me about, just forget it, because it's not going to work. I'm not going to go out with you, I'm not going to get wasted with you, and I sure as hell am not going to screw you."

"You're going to want to hear what I have to say," she said sourly.

"Fine, spit it out so you can leave me the hell alone," I told her frustrated. Bella was going over last minute homework stuff for the time she would be taking off for the birth, so she hadn't met us in the cafeteria yet, but I was expecting her any second and I really didn't want her to have to deal with Vicky. I needed to get rid of the skank as quickly as possible.

"Ok…I'm pregnant."

I stared at her unfazed, and waited for the punch line. When she didn't continue, I figured that she had finished, so I just had to laugh.

"Oh shit, what sorry ass bastard was stupid enough to get _you_ pregnant?" I asked through my laughter.

"You did," she said straight faced, so I immediately stopped laughing.

"Wow. I've heard a lot of bullshit in my life, but that has to be the top," I said seriously.

"It's not bullshit. I am pregnant, I'm just about six weeks along, and it's yours ," she stated.

I rolled my eyes, knowing for a fact that the entire thing was a lie, but then she looked past me with a smirk, and I knew Bella had come onto the scene. Regardless of the obvious lie, Bella didn't need that shit, and I became extremely angry that the skank was going to try to upset her.

"Listen, you fucking bitch. Knock this shit off before I fucking end you," I threatened her.

"Edward, what's going on?" Bella asked concerned.

"Oh Bella, it seems your baby is already going to be a big sibling."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I yelled, grabbing everyone's attention in hearing range.

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked, ignoring my outburst.

"I'm six weeks along…with _Edward's_ baby, just like you. Too bad your dad wasn't a polygamist leader, because then we'd be sister wives," she said with a smile.

I laughed once humorlessly, and then I lunged for her.

"Whoa, that's not going to solve anything," Garrett said, catching me from behind and restraining me.

"That bitch is lying!" I yelled, which caused Garrett to tighten his hold on me. "Bella, don't believe her, don't even fucking listen to her. She's been looking for a payday all year, and she thinks I'm it. If she is even pregnant, _which I highly doubt_, it sure as hell isn't mine!"

"You're six weeks?" Bella asked her absently.

"Yep," Vicky said with a smile.

"Six weeks ago…Edward disappeared for two days," Bella muttered.

"Oh, hell no! Bella, I would never do that, I swear to you. There is no way in hell I'd ever touch that bitch."

"Yeah, you did," James said as he walked up to the confrontation.

"You fucking rat bastard, I'm going to fucking beat you to death!" I threatened him. "What the fuck did you do to me that night?" I knew without a doubt, that he had to be in on it. It was just payback for whatever the hell he was pissed at me about, and I was literally seeing red.

"I didn't do anything except take you to that party. You seemed pretty upset, so you started drinking, and then the drugs were being passed around, and you were way into it. I tried to get you to go home, but you refused. I even told you that Bella would be worried, but you didn't care. You disappeared in one of the back rooms for awhile, so I went to look for you because I wanted to leave, but that's when I found you naked with Vicky. I couldn't believe it, so I left you there."

I stood there calmly and listened to James speak….and then I blew up. Garrett lost his grip on my for one second, and that's all it took for me to get away from him. I jumped at James and had him on the ground easy enough, and then began pounding his face in.

What Laurence had done to me earlier in the year, was nothing compared to what my _once best friend James _was doing now. I never could have imagined he had such evil in him. He wasn't just messing around with some stupid high school gossip backstabbing shit, James was messing with my family, my life, and I wasn't going to stop beating him until he was dead, or someone forced me off of him.

His face was beginning to resemble hamburger, and his blood was splattering all over my face, but I didn't stop. It took Garrett, Peter, and a school faculty member to pull me off of James, and even then I was fighting them to try to get back at him.

"LET ME GO, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" I screamed at whoever was restraining me.

"I have pictures proving it," Vicky said smugly. She didn't even bat an eye at James, lying bloodied on the ground.

I stopped fighting long enough to see her so called pictures, and I was absolutely floored at what I saw.

It was me…and her….without clothes on...lying tangled up together in that strange room that I had confusingly woken in.

_*The cradle will fall….._

I felt like my heart stopped beating, and I definitely stopped breathing, because when I looked at Bella and saw her staring horrified at the pictures….I knew my life was really and truly over.

_*And down will come baby, cradle and all._

* * *

><p><strong>****So, who hates me right now? <strong>

**The next chapter will be more fallout from this, and then we'll move on with the story. Just remember who are the 'Twilight' bad guys, and that I LOATHE cheating, and always write HEAs**

**Please stick with me, I will guarantee that in the end, you will not be disappointed!**

**And if you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate a REVIEW….just no death threats, please! lol**


	15. Tears

**Unintended**

A/N: _Early Update_ – as a thank you to all the people trusting me and continuing to read. I really appreciate it.

Please Note, this is the second update of the day, so if you missed the last chapter, you need to read it first!

This chapter might make more people angry, but everything is about to change again because this is the last chapter of the first part of the story.

* * *

><p>~Chapter 15 – <em>Tears<em>~

_I felt like my heart stopped beating, and I definitely stopped breathing, because when I looked at Bella and saw her staring horrified at the pictures….I knew my life was really and truly over._

"Come on, to the principal with you," the teacher on the scene said to me, but I couldn't just leave Bella there, not like that, not with those vultures.

"Hold up!" Bella said unexpectedly. "What the hell are these?"

"What do they look like?" Vicky said arrogantly.

"They look like photo-shopped crap!" Bella responded strongly.

Holy shit. When I first saw the pictures, I was shocked and in disbelief, but the thought of them being altered didn't occur to me, but it did make perfect sense….Bella always seemed to see through all of life's bullshit, and she caught onto the falsities and holes in their story almost immediately.

"You're calling them a fake?" Vicky said incredulously.

"Yes, I am," she said confidently. "I mean come one Vicky, you aren't fooling anyone with this shit. It's widely known that you were trying to get pregnant by any guy with money. You've seen how Edward had accepted my pregnancy so you were just expecting him to do the same with you. But too bad, because I'm not buying it."

"You said so yourself that he was 'missing' around the time I got pregnant…do you think it's just by coincidence that I got pregnant around the same exact time that he went awol?"

"If he was really with you, then why would you take pictures? People don't do that in normal situations," Bella rebutted. "These are fake; it's as simple as that."

"We both know that Edward denied being the father of your baby too…what makes you so sure he's not lying about me also? What has he ever done to gain this undying faith you have in him?"

Bella shook her head. "He hasn't done anything….and he's lied hundreds of times, but the thing is, when you really know someone the way I know my _husband_, it's easy to know when they're lying…and he's not."

I couldn't believe that Bella was actually defending me, and I felt a whole new level of gratitude towards her. I didn't deserve her trust, and I couldn't imagine how difficult having accusations thrown at me like that was for her, but I was once again, eternally and irrevocably grateful to have her in my life.

Bella and Vicky continued to argue, but the teacher refused to let me stay and listen. Someone was already escorting James to the hospital, and I couldn't wait until Carlisle got off that night so he could tell me how broken his face was. My knuckles were throbbing, so I smiled at the thought of how bad his face must feel.

Despite knowing two idiots were out to get me, I suddenly felt extreme light knowing I still had Bella. She and our son was all that mattered to me, so as long as I had them, the rest of the world could go fuck themselves.

But as I sat in the principal's office awaiting my latest sentencing, I was calm enough to wonder why the hell James would be so extremely hateful of me, that he would lie like that. Sure, I kissed that disgusting whore in front of him to make him jealous, but really, I just didn't get it. James was always the first guy to step up and protest when we were doing something incredibly fucked up, so how could he be ok with trying to ruin my family?

I sat there for about twenty five minutes, before Esme showed up looking more worried than anything.

"What happened, they said you got in a fight?" she said while grabbing my chin and moving it around to survey for damages.

"Esme, I'm fine," I assured her.

"Well, what happened?" she asked but then sucked in a hard breath when she saw my bloody hands.

"Its fine. James just got in the way of my fists," I said with a chuckle.

"James, your friend _James_?" Esme asked surprised.

"Yeah, he was trying to turn Bella against me, but it didn't work so everything is fine," I told her calmly.

"How was he trying to turn her against you?" she asked confused, but then the principal walked in.

"Edward, I am very disappointed in you," he said sternly. "I just got a call from the hospital and actually spoke to Dr. Cullen. It seems James has a concussion."

Shit.

As much as I absolutely hated the guy right then for what he tried to do, I certainly didn't mean to give him a concussion. Kill him in my fit of blind rage, _sure_, but not a concussion.

"Sir, he was trying to…" I started but he interrupted me.

"Mr. Masen, it doesn't matter what he was trying to do. We have a zero tolerance for fighting in this school, and I hate to do this because of the situation you're in at home, but you are hereby expelled from Forks High," he said unexpectedly.

"Whoa, that's more than harsh," Esme said quickly. Kids get into fights all the time, and I always see them back here on campus within a couple of weeks."

"Yes, and we've had gang problems so we just passed the 'no tolerance' rule three months ago. But…Edward can go to continuation school, and if he keeps up with his studies, he can still graduate on time."

"Look, I have to be here with my wife," I tried reasoning with him. "I'm sorry for losing it, and I will even speak out against teen violence at an assembly or some shit like that if that's what you want…but I have to stay here."

But he wouldn't budge. Esme promised me that she'd continue to work on him, but she suggested for me to take the rest of the week off regardless. I hated the thought of leaving Bella at school without speaking to her and making sure she was ok, but I didn't have any other choice, so Esme promised to check on her, which made me feel slightly better.

I borrowed Esme's car and decided to have an emergency meeting with Dr. Amun. I felt fine at that point, but just to be safe, I wanted to get my head examined.

"So, you're positive that they weren't telling the truth?" Dr. Amun asked.

"Definitely," I said confidently. We started discussing Bella's reaction and how it made me feel knowing she still supported me, and then our session ended.

"Hey, you ok?" Emmett asked me the minute I walked into the house.

"Don't you ever have school?" I asked him baffled.

"Winter break, moron," he explained, and then I realized that Rose was there as well. "Mom called and asked if I could bring back her car, and then she told me what happened…..so I assume you got that little punk pretty good, then? I mean, I am impressed that he ended up in the hospital, I would have torn off his limbs and burned him if he did to me what he tried to do to you."

I shouldn't have been surprised that Esme had already found out the exact the cause of my fight, a lot of people did overhear after all, but I was happy that I didn't have to explain it.

"Yeah, well, I would have if people didn't stop me…I'm just grateful Bella didn't believe that shit."

"No kidding…That's the last thing she needs."

But then Rose butted in. "But if you can't remember what happened to you during those days, then…how do you know they're lying. People do really fucked up shit when they're wasted."

"Rose?" Em said incredulously.

"What? I'm just being honest," she said defensively.

Surprisingly, I wasn't angry by Rose's comment…I was terrified. The truth was that she was right, I had no idea what happened those two days, and the only two people who claimed to know, said I did something disgustingly horrible.

Emmett and Rose left to go bring Esme back her car, and then they all returned just over an hour later. Bella and I just stared at each other for an extremely long moment, and like when I came back from my two day disappearance, she walked over to me and hugged me.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," I murmured into her hair.

"You've made a lot of enemies, Edward. This probably won't be the last time one of your less than stellar past issues comes back to bite you in the ass," she told me.

"Yes it will, I swear, I…."

"Edward, just stop!" she yelled unexpectedly. "I don't want to hear anymore of those promises, when it's become increasingly clear that you can't keep them," she said before storming up the stairs.

So, of course I followed her.

"Bella, what are you doing?" I asked absently as I walked into the room, and saw her packing clothes into a suitcase.

"I just…need some time," she said without stopping.

"Time? We don't have time, the baby is almost here," I said incredulously.

"Even if it's just a few days…." she responded.

"I thought you said that you believed me?" I asked while my breathing started to speed.

"I do…but…"

"But what? You either believe me and know that those assholes were just pulling a scam, or you don't and think I'm lying. Which is it?" I asked her in a panic.

"It's not that simple," she said heatedly. "Whether or not you did it, the fact that they were after you in the first place just proves…"

"What? Just proves what?" I urged her to continue.

"I don't know what!" she yelled. "All I know is that I can't handle this right now, and I need time to think about everything."

"Well, it's not like either of us are in this marriage by choice, so what makes you think you can just leave because you feel like it?" I asked her. I in no way meant it as a threat, but the expression on her face insinuated otherwise.

"I do not have to be _anywhere_ against my will," she said through gritted teeth. "I chose to marry you because I thought…." She let her sentence trail off again, and then shook her head before slamming her suitcase shut.

"What? I have opened up entirely to you Bella, and told you absolutely everything…but you can't return the favor, can you? Never once have you told me your exact reasons for being here, or what you went through during those first few months of your pregnancy…."

"No, I haven't, but have you ever asked?" she said breathlessly. "I figured that if you really wanted to know, you would have brought the subject up."

"I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I was waiting for you to come to me."

"It doesn't work that way!" she said irately.

"Fine, I'm here now, asking you all those questions, so let's start with the first. Why did you agree to marry me?"

She stared at me, but then shook her head. "None of it seems to matter right now, does it."

"Oh, don't give me that 'too little, too late', bullshit. I'm here, asking you to open up to me the way I have turned myself inside out for you."

"Ok, fine, but first I want to hear you say it," she said unexpectedly.

"Say what?" I asked confused.

"Look me in the eye, and swear to me that there is no way you could have gotten Vicky pregnant," she challenged. "In fact, you don't even have to swear it. Just look at me, and tell me that it is impossible…and I'll unpack my bag right now."

My breath caught, and I suddenly felt like I was falling. I was a good liar, I had to be because if I was honest with everyone, then people would know just how much of a mess I truly was and it would horrify them…but Bella was always different. She could always see right through me, and perhaps that's what this was all about. She knew I couldn't lie to her, and she sensed my uncertainty.

"I don't know what happened," I said brokenly. I could feel myself cracking into a million pieces, but I needed to keep it together, I needed to be strong for her. "But, I would never do that to you on my own free will. You know that. They drugged me, they are responsible for this, and I don't know how, but I will fix it."

A single tear rolled down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, and her face stiffened into a hard mask.

"I love you…" she said, taking me aback. Despite feeling it, we hadn't said those words to each other, _besides the one time she muttered it before we had sex for the first time_, and for her to say it in that moment, I knew exactly what would follow. But I couldn't run from it like I did with everything else, I owed it to her to stand there and take it.

"I love you," she repeated. "But all this is _wrong_. There's a reason why society stopped forcing people to marry because of a pregnancy, and this is the perfect example. We're not ready to be married, we're not ready for any of this."

"Whoa, wait. What the hell are you saying?" I asked, confused by what she meant.

"Who are we kidding anyway?" she said with the tears pouring out now. "We're seventeen years old, we're not ready to be parents."

"Well, it's not exactly up to us. I mean, it's not like we chose this, but it's here."

"But we do have choices," she said with a strained voice.

"Bella?" I couldn't believe what she was saying, and I wouldn't. "You're just upset, after you've had time to think about it, you'll realize what your saying is ridiculous."

"Will I?" she asked me emotionally. She grabbed her bag, and then practically ran out of the room.

Once again, I found myself in a numbing daze as I walked through the next few days. Carlisle and Esme tried talking to me, but I wasn't there enough mentally to give a proper response. Dr. Amun tried to break through to me as well, but he was no help either. I needed Bella, and until I had her back, there was nothing to be done.

The only time I wasn't in my self induced haze, was when the phone rang. I kept worrying that all the stress would put Bella into labor early, so I kept waiting to get that phone call. I did know that Bella didn't go back to her dad's house however, she had been staying with Angela, for which, I was actually grateful. Angela was a good friend to her, and Charlie had never been around enough to give her the support she needed at that time.

But then I couldn't ignore the Vicky problem anymore.

"Edward, you have a visitor," Emmett came to tell me.

"Is it Bella?" I asked emotionlessly.

"Nope," Emmett said quickly.

"Then I really don't care whose here," I said honestly.

"Yeah well, you better come down before she moves all her shit in."

"Huh?" I asked confused.

I reluctantly followed Emmett down, and nearly lost it when I saw Vicky there with two huge suitcases.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I heard Bella moved out, so I figured you had an open place for us…and just think, the baby area is already set up and waiting for me, right?" Vicky said with faux innocence. Carlisle and Esme were standing in the kitchen, which was in full hearing range of everything being said between us, so rather that attacking Vicky like I wanted to, I waited for back up.

"Vicky, hi. It's been a long time," Esme said as she rushed into the room.

"I'm just so happy you extended your home out to me, Mrs. Cullen," Vicky said unexpectedly.

"What?" I shouted.

"Calm down, son," Carlisle said calmly as he joined us. "We never said you could stay with us, we simply asked you to come over so we can discuss the situation."

"There is nothing to discuss," Vicky said quickly. "I'm pregnant with you grandchild, and you owe me the same benefits you gave Bella."

"Bella is my wife, you fucking…"

"Edward!" Esme scolded me.

"This is fucking ridiculous, she's obviously lying about the entire thing!" I yelled.

"She is pregnant Edward. She came in last week for her check up," Carlisle said.

"Fine, whatever. Let's do a DNA test then. Right now," I insisted.

"No!" she screamed. "That is too dangerous at this stage."

"See? She's fucking lying because if she wasn't, then she wouldn't have a problem with the test," I said to Esme and Carlisle.

"Well, it is true that a DNA test at this stage could be risky," Carlisle said reluctantly.

"See?" Vicky said smugly.

"But Edward is still married to Bella, so you being here is inappropriate," he added.

Vicky was definitely surprised that she couldn't weasel her way into what she wanted."What? I have no money and no insurance to pay for all my pregnancy expenses…."

"Which is why you're really here," I said irately.

"So, as my baby's father, he needs to step up and pay for it," she said, ignoring my interruption.

"Of course she wants money," I said, but no one was listening to me at that point.

"Until we can get the DNA test, we will cover the cost of your medical bills," Carlisle said, shocking the hell out of me.

"There is no way in hell I'm going to take money from Bella and _our _baby, to pay for that bitch and her kid which has nothing to do with me!" I shouted.

"Vicky, we will be in touch, but you are not welcome to stay here," Carlisle told her before gesturing for her to leave.

"Well, you can expect me to come after every bit of money that's mine," she said, before turning and walking away.

Carlisle shut the door, and then slowly turned back to me, and I furiously glared at him in return.

"How could you ambush me with that bitch? Why the hell would you ever invite her here?" I asked heatedly.

"We tried telling you that she was coming to discuss all this, but you refused to listen," Esme said. "And for the record, we never once gave her the assumption that she could live here."

"I'm not giving that bitch one dime of my money!" I reiterated.

"Edward, that girl obviously has never had anything in her life. She has no money, and no way to take care of herself little alone a baby. Now, _if _that is your child, then don't you want to do whatever you can to make sure it's taken care of?" Carlisle asked.

"It's not my child!" I said sternly.

"It's still a child either way. An innocent child, Edward," Esme added.

"Whatever," I said before running upstairs.

The next day was Christmas Eve, and I was absolutely sickened by the thought that I wouldn't be with Bella for the holiday….but then she came.

"Hi," I said, and I couldn't help the way my heart jumped from seeing her, but her expression was cold and hard.

"We need to talk," she said emotionlessly.

"Yeah, of course."

We went up to our room, and I shut the door behind her. I was holding on to the very last ounce of hope that she was there to tell me that she was coming home, but that too quickly died.

"I've spent the last week really thinking about everything….and I tried to weigh all of our options….Edward, I think it would be best to end this now," she said coldly, but I could hear the trace of sorrow that she was trying to hide.

"But…we're a family," I told her, feeling like there was a lump in my throat.

"No, we're just two immature kids that have no business being married or raising a child together."

"Bella, I know that I fought this for a long time, but I want to be a father now, and I can't just let you push me out of our son's life."

Her face broke momentarily, but she quickly recovered herself and refastened her features into a hard mask. "Edward…I want to do what's right for our son. I love him more than anything, and I want to give him the best possible chance at a happy normal _stable_ life. Edward…_we can't give him that_," she whispered at the end.

I shook my head, not wanting to believe what she was telling me.

"So what then, what are you planning to do?" I asked anxiously.

"I've been looking into…adoption," she said quietly.

I shook my head again. "I don't believe this."

"Edward, I can't do this. I fooled myself into thinking that I could, and despite what I want, I have to think about what he needs. There are so many couples out there who are desperately longing for a child, and can be that stability that we're just not ready for. I've already spoken to an agency, and they said we can be as much a part of the process as we want…"

"I can't believe this," I said again.

"I'm not going to do anything against your will, but you really need to think about it," she said with strain heavy in her voice. "I'll leave the papers that you would need to sign downstairs…_and the divorce papers as well_. Just think about it, and let me know what you decide," she said before walking back towards the door.

"Bella!" I called after her. She stopped and turned back towards me, and then waited. "I love you," I told her and couldn't help the tears from escaping down my face.

"I love you too….I only wish it was enough," she said before leaving.

I stood there like an idiot, and then I broke and fell to my knees bawling hysterically. I hadn't cried since before my family was massacred, and I hated that I was doing it then, but I couldn't stop. Every inch of my body ached for the loss of my family _for the second time, _and as the tears continued to break free, I knew all my soul was escaping with them.

I always assumed that my dad had killed my spirit when he murdered my mother and sister, but I realized then that all he did was weaken it, because that was the moment I truly lost everything inside of me.

"I'm so sorry," Esme's gentle voice said as I felt her arms encompass me.

"I don't know what to do," I said shattered as I let her hold me.

"Everything will be ok, you'll see," she said while shedding her own tears.

"Nothing will ever be ok again," I mumbled.

She rubbed my head and began humming a comforting tune, but I didn't want to be comforted, so I managed to find the hole I had buried myself in for so long, and I crawled back inside.

"Esme, I think I just need some time alone," I told her calmly.

She nodded. "I'll set up an appointment with Dr. Amun for you as soon as possible, ok?"

"Ok," I said vacantly.

She kissed the side of my head, and then left me alone.

I sat in my room, and just stared blankly into my multiuse closet for hours. It was still full of baby clothes, and was all that was left of the family that I never really got a chance to have.

I spent a few minutes just festering in my fury about the entire situation. I hated Bella, and I seriously thought about finding a gun and killing everyone who had ever wronged me, but that was the moment I finally understood my father. Taking their lives would be easy, gratifying, and I wanted it….but then the feeling past and I knew I had no choice.

I had no idea why, but I grabbed the newborn elf costume out of the closet, and stuffed it into my backpack. I took a few changes of clothes and the money I had in my wallet, and then I waited until everyone else was sleeping, before quietly going downstairs. I would have just gone out the window like I had so many times before, but I had to do something before I could leave.

I quietly went into the kitchen, found a pen, and signed all my rights away. Bella was right after all, no kid needed a fuckup like me in its life, so giving him to a family who could _safely_ love him, was the best thing I could possibly do.

I didn't look back as I walked out the door, but I did make one last phone call, and thankfully, this time, he answered.

"I just need a ride to the bus stop," I told Garrett over the phone.

"Ok, I'll be right there," he said supportively.

I would have just walked, but it was freezing out and I wanted to let someone know what happened to me, just in case the Cullens worried.

When he got to my house however, I noticed a large duffle bag in the back seat.

"What's that for?" I asked him.

"I'm coming with you," he said completely flabbergasting me.

"Garrett, you can't do that," I told him.

"Yes, I can. Look Edward, my life here is shit, and if I don't get out now, then I'm scared I never will."

"What about school?" I asked carelessly.

"I'm failing three classes, and there's no way I'll be able to graduate. Look, I was planning on leaving anyway, and this just gave me the nudge I needed."

I nodded. "I guess if you're leaving anyway, we might as well travel together for awhile, but as soon as we get to wherever we're going, we part ways."

He nodded in agreement, and then we left Forks for what I was sure would be the last time.

* * *

><p>***Ok, for those still with me, and yes, I've lost quite a few, there was a specific reason why I needed E and B's relationship to end. Their marriage was built on a cracked foundation and unstable ground, and in order for them to be together strong and everlasting, they needed everything to be torn down so it can later be rebuilt strong and healthy.<p>

We move forward in time next, and the 'second half' banner will come into relevance. So if you're still iffy about this story, then take a look at the banner and see if that helps.

*****UPDATE*** I've decided to write an ALTERNANTE ENDING to this chapter and the rest of the story. If you hate the idea of Edward being gone for ten years without knowing what happened right away, then follow the rest of the story at _'Unintended - A Loss of Faith'_ which can be found on my profile. There will be no time jump and the story will start at the beginning of this chapter, but it will finish differently. I stand by this story and the direction it took, but for those a little less happy about it, I offer something different. **

**Please Review!**


	16. Cookies

**Unintended **

A/N: This is the second part of the story….ten years later, so if you only like high school dramas, then you'll need to find something else now.

The theme song for this section of this story is 'Far Away' by _Nickelback_. After this chapter, the second part banner will no longer be a spoiler, so feel free to check it out!

I have no idea how many chapter are left. I like it to feel natural and I hate dragging stories out, so if its two more chapters or ten, it'll be over when I feel it's complete.

* * *

><p><strong>PART 2 – FAR AWAY<strong>

~Chapter 16 –_Cookies_~

Buzzz

Buzz

Buzz

Fuck.

_Who the fuck was texting me at this hour_?

"Fucking Garrett," I said groggily, and then put my cell back down and went back to sleep.

But the next thing I knew, there was pounding on my door, and because I knew he would continue to pound until I let him in, I finally got out of bed for the day.

"What the fuck do you want?" I asked him emotionlessly.

"We have a meeting today Edward, remember?" Garrett said annoyed by my irresponsibility.

"Garrett, I told you that I don't want to do it anymore," I told him with a yawn.

"Yeah, you say that all the time, but it still doesn't make it any more true," he said unfazed as he handed me my shoes.

"Thanks mom," I said mockingly.

"Hurry up, or we're going to be late," he said quickly.

"And that would worry me…_why?_" I asked lazily.

"Come on, enough with this shit. Get dressed."

"Shouldn't I take a shower first?" I asked carelessly.

"We don't have time. Besides, you usually show up a mess, so it's not like anyone will be shocked," he replied.

"You know Garrett, whatever happened to us parting ways like we planned?" I asked as we walked to his car.

"You just can't survive without me," he said with a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess not."

…..

**10 yrs earlier**

"Edward, what are we going to do? I'm starved and fucking freezing," Garrett asked me hopelessly.

Instead of taking a bus like I planned, we made the mistake of driving Garrett's rundown – barely running – squeaky breaks clunker. Needless to say, we wasted most of our money on gas and then the thing broke down anyway.

"Just keep walking," I told him.

Since we no longer had a car or any money, we spent three days hitchhiking and living on the street, and we only ate when we were able to steal food from gas stations. It was fucking miserable.

"Where are we going anyway?" he asked exhausted.

"I have a friend that will put us up for a few days, we just have to get to him," I told him.

"How much further?" he asked concerned.

"Chicago," I told him.

"Hold on…we're going all the way to Chicago…just to stay with your friend for a couple nights?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Do you have a better plan?" I asked annoyed. "You're welcome to go off on your own or go back to Forks if you want, but Chicago is where I'm going."

It took us a long tortuous week, but we finally made it, and my friend was more than a little surprised to see me.

"Holy shit!" Jasper shouted. "What the fuck are you doing here, man?" he asked as he gave me a hug.

Jasper and I had always hated each other, since the day he first started dating Alice. She was a year younger than me, and he was a year older, so I never really trusted him. But after they broke up and he left town, he began emailing me all the time. I never told anyone about it, because he asked me not to, but he still cared about Alice and worried about her. However, his concerned emails about her, quickly became somewhat of a friendship with me, and I knew he'd be willing to put us up for a few days.

"Man, I just needed to get out of town," I told him as honestly as I was capable of in that moment.

"Well, you're welcome here man. As long as you need," he said with a smile.

"Thanks. This is my buddy Garrett," I introduced them.

"Hey, welcome," Jasper said.

Jasper's place was small, to say the least, but it was warm and dry, which was so much better than what we had gotten used to. He had plans of joining the military, but he decided to spend a few years to try to build a career in music first. So basically, he was like most other musicians out there, _struggling_, but he still seemed happy with his decision.

Garrett and Jasper quickly became friends as they bonded over their mutual love of guitars, although Garrett preferred drums over anything else.

I just thought they were both idiots.

I really didn't understand people sitting around all day together and making loud annoying noises, and calling it music. I mean, I liked some stuff, but there was a reason why some were successful and others weren't…most people sucked and were just fooling themselves.

To pay the bills, Jasper worked at a local body shop, and lucky for us, they just happened to have a couple openings. But unfortunate for _me_, Jasper's 'band'-and I used the word extremely loosely- practiced there whenever it was slow, which only resulted in huge migraines for me. Garrett 'jammed' with them whenever he could, but I'd always just roll my eyes.

But then one day, things changed.

"Dude, we have an audition with a huge record company…ok, maybe it's a small record company, but it's still a huge deal!" Jasper said excitedly.

"Wow, good for you," I said unenthused. I was happy that he was so excited, I mean I guess it was cool, but I was sure he was only in for disappointment.

"Yeah…but I need your help," he said to me unexpectedly.

"What? Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Because, we told them that we had four guys, and Tim backed out. They don't want a threesome, so you need to come and stand in for us."

"Uh…I don't know how to play anything," I told him confused as to why he'd ever ask me.

"It doesn't matter. I'll give you a guitar and you just need to stand there and fake it. We can't pass this opportunity up, so after we sign, we'll find someone else to replace you," Jasper said eagerly…and then he started in on the guilt trip. "Man, I've let you sleep in my fucking apartment for six months without asking for a dime, the least you can do is fucking help me."

I huffed. "Fine!"

So I went. It was Jasper, Garrett , some guy named Ben, and me. And I felt like a complete moron.

I stood there, moved my fingers around aimlessly, and basically watched the clock until I could be done. I couldn't tell if the other guys were playing well or not, it was all just noise to me, but they seemed pretty happy afterwards.

"We like you guys," the producer guy said after the audition. "But I've seen hundreds of groups that I 'like'. If a band has any chance of being successful, they need that 'it' factor, which _you_ just don't have," he said while pointing at Ben. Ben was the singer and designated leader of the band, although Jasper was really the one who always took charge.

"So, is there anything we can do?" Jasper asked.

"Well, I suggest a shake up. Now _you_," he said while pointing to me. "You are marketable. You have a look that women would respond to, so, if you guys want to be signed with us, this guy is your new lead singer. Go home and practice, and come back in two weeks to re-audition."

_What the fuck!_

"No," I told Jasper. He had been asking me to 'try' all the way back to his apartment, but there was no way in hell I'd do it.

"There's a signing bonus man. Look, you don't even have to be good, we'll drown you out with backups and guitar solos," Jasper tried reasoning.

"I don't sing, I don't play guitar, so why the hell would I do any of it?" I questioned.

"Because we need you man," Jasper pleaded.

"Well, you shouldn't. Every time someone 'needs' me, it always ends up blowing up in their face," I told him seriously.

"Look, I know you've had a fucked up time, but music can be healing. Just pour out all that pain into the lyrics; it's better than therapy."

"I'm not a writer either, I failed every poetry assignment I ever had," I said, and a distant memory of Bella on a sand dune invaded my memory, but I quickly pushed it aside and buried it as deeply as it would go. I couldn't go there, not ever again.

"Please man?" Jasper asked one more time.

"Fine. I'll do it _once_, and if or when you get signed, I'm gone," I told him.

"But if you sign too, which they would insist on, you wouldn't be able to just take off," he told me.

"What are they going to do? Sue me? I have nothing for them to take. It'll be fine, people do it all the time," I assured him.

We spent the next two weeks practicing, and I was wrong in the assumption that I'd be bad, because I was far worse than that. Dying cats, sounded better than me.

But they just played louder to try and drown me out. Jasper also tried to teach me guitar in the limited time we had, but I just had no desire to learn, which made it even more difficult.

Before we knew it, time was up and we had to audition again.

"This is fucking ridiculous," I said to myself as we stood in front of the producers.

"Just put your emotions into it," Ben whispered to me before we started.

But what he didn't understand, was that I had no emotions. Everything inside of me had died and there was just nothing left to pull from. However, like the flash of memory I had of Bella when talking about poetry, the music suddenly started playing and images of my short lived life with Bella began flooding in.

I had done my absolute best to never think of her. She was a chapter in my life that was closed and put away to never be reopened, but there I was, lost in what was, and it all just came out. I distorted the words of the song to fit what I was feeling, and the next thing I knew, it was over and everyone was silent.

"And that my friends, is pure dollar signs," a producer finally said.

Jasper and the others remained calm and composed while they signed their lives away to the company, but I just felt numb.

"Holy Shit!" they all yelled as soon as we left the building.

"Who the hell are you?" Jasper asked me incredulously.

"Dude, that was fucking amazing," Ben added.

But Garrett stayed quiet. He knew me and my situation well enough to know exactly what just happened, and he also knew that it wasn't something to cheer about.

I was seriously fucked up.

I wanted nothing more than to get stoned and waste my life away, but I knew that would have been too easy. I didn't deserve to check out in that way, and I knew I never would again.

"Are you ok?" Garrett asked me that evening. We were still crashing on Jasper's living room couches, so we were just lying on our respective makeshift beds, and neither of us could sleep.

"I don't know how to answer that….My kid is probably crawling by now," I said with a thick voice.

"You could always call the Cullens and see what happened. I mean, you don't even know what went down with Vicky," he said hesitantly.

"I don't give a shit about Vicky. She can rot in hell for all I care."

"Yeah, but I'm sure the Cullens can tell you about Bella also," he suggested.

"There's nothing to tell. I signed the papers; we're divorced and she put the baby up for adoption," I told him.

"Well, maybe the Cullens know the family who adopted him. Maybe they could tell you…"

"NO!" I shouted. "Garrett, there's nothing to be said to any of them. That part of my life is over, and I'm not going to keep talking about this shit!"

And just like that, I turned off the emotions and wiped clean the memories again. I had to, I'd never be able to survive with them in the forefront.

However, when it was time for me to sing, I couldn't hold the pain away. It was like I let my guard down during the few minutes the songs lasted for, and I couldn't keep it all locked up. But, with time, I found a way to deal with it. When I sang, I let them in, and when it was over, I forced it all back into the deepest part of my mind and locked away until the next time.

It worked for me. It was a way I could visit with the life I lost, but be able to function in the current place I was. The music was my life, and every other minute of my day, I was just there, not really living but just existing. I actually began writing as well. I used the technique Bella had taught me when she was helping with poetry; of course, I needed help putting my words into a singable form, but after awhile, I got the hang of that as well.

Years past, and I eventually did learn to play the guitar, but the way I handled everything else didn't change. We actually became successful, and had a pretty good sized fan base. We all moved to New York where I played the part, went to parties, and made other appearances, but I hated every minute of it. I kept telling the guys that I was going to quit as soon as I made enough money to live comfortably….of course, they always pulled me back in, and I'd always caved and continue.

One time I even really tried to think about the reason why I kept going back to the band, and I realized it was because when I was doing music, it was the only time I could be with Bella. I knew that if I were to fully give up, she would disappear as well, and I just couldn't handle that. But of course, I buried that realization as well, and continued my empty threats of leaving.

…

**Present-day**

"Why do we have to meet with these assholes anyway?" I asked Garrett as we pulled into the parking lot.

"Uh, because they own the record company," he said like a smartass.

"I don't give a shit who they are. They can just email me with what they want me to do."

"Come on, you know we have to play the game," Garrett replied.

"Whatever," I said to myself.

I sat through the two fucking hour long meeting, nodded on all the appropriate occasions, and just watched the clock until I could return home.

We had been out the entire night before, at some club for their grand opening, so I was fucking exhausted and just wanted to go back to bed, which I did.

But leave it to fucking Garrett to not leave me alone. Once again, he was at my door, banging like there was no tomorrow.

"Jesus Christ. What the Hell…o" I said after realizing that it wasn't Garrett.

"Hi," she said with the biggest grin I had ever seen on a kid before. It was a little girl that I didn't know, and she was just staring at me, waiting for me to speak.

"Can I help you?" I asked her. It was odd that she was there at all, because the building I lived in was private and random people couldn't walk in whenever they felt like it.

"I'm here to sell cookies," she said while handing me a box of Girl Scout cookies.

"Oh…no thanks," I said, but she wasn't really listening to me.

"Is this really where you live?" she asked strangely before ducking under my arm, and walking right inside my apartment. She handed me the box of cookies as she passed, and showed no trepidation whatsoever about walking right into a stranger's house. _What the hell?_

"Um…excuse me?" I said uncomfortably. I looked out into the hall to see if someone was with her, but I didn't see anyone, so I shut the door and followed after the kid. "Uh…what are you doing?" I asked her.

"Looking around, duh," she said with attitude. And she _was_ looking around. She was looking in closets and in all the rooms, she even looked in the pantry in the kitchen.

I still had the box of cookies in my hand, except I quickly realized that it was empty. In fact, it just looked like garbage that someone discarded, which she probably just found somewhere. It was really freaking odd.

"Look kid, I really don't know what you're doing in here," I said. "Are you lost, is there someone you need me to call for you?" I asked her baffled.

"Nope," she said as she went into the living room and started bouncing on the couch.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" I asked her frustrated, but she didn't answer.

And then the phone rang.

"Damn man, was that meeting boring, or what?" Jasper said.

"Yeah, whatever," I told him. Jasper went on about the stupid meeting, but I really didn't care. "Jaz listen, I gotta go; I have a little issue here."

"What's going on?" he asked concerned.

"I have no idea; there's some kid here, and she just walked into my house and is acting like she owns the joint," I told him.

"Really? Some random kid?" he asked.

"Yeah, she's like six or something…Hey kid, how old are you?" I asked her as I covered the receiver so I wasn't yelling in Jasper's ear.

"Ten," she said without stopping her snooping.

"Yeah, she's like seven," I told Jasper.

"No, I'm TEN!" she yelled at me, but I ignored her.

"That's so weird," Jasper said.

"Yeah, so, what do I do?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I guess call the police," he suggested.

"Yeah, Ok," I told him, and then I hung up.

"Hey kid, I'm going to call someone to come get you, Ok?" I told her.

"You can't!" she said in a panic.

"Uh…ok," I said. "Why?"

"Because I can't go back there. If you call the socially serving people, they will send me back, and I can't go back. See this bruise," she said while holding up her arm to show me a small brown mark, which she could have gotten from anywhere.

"Yeah," I said.

"Well they gave it to me," she said dramatically.

"Ok, well, I'll tell someone and 'they' will be in trouble," I told her.

But she shook her head quickly. "I already told them, but they don't believe me. Please don't call anyone," she said with her hands clasped in front of her."

I didn't really believe her, but on the off chance that someone was hurting her, I decided to hold off on calling anyone until I figured out exactly who she was, and why she was there.

"Why don't you tell me your name," I suggested.

Her stressed face melted, and a smile immediately replaced it. "My name is Renesmee," she said confidently.

"Huh?"

"Ruh-nez-may," she said slowly. "Renesmee."

"That is one odd name," I said, mostly to myself, but her face fell and she looked offended.

Shit.

"Sorry, I just never heard that name before," I told her.

"I know, it's special," she said with furrowed brows and her arms crossed.

"O-kay," I said. "So, why did you come here?" I asked her puzzled.

"Because you're my dad," she said abruptly with a smile.

_Uh…._

After she dropped that bomb, she went casually back to looking around.

"Um, Rapunzel?" I said in almost a panic.

"Renesmee," she corrected me.

"That's what I said…Look, why do you think I'm your dad?" I asked her anxiously.

"Because you are," she said like it was fact. "I found my birth certificate, and under _Father_ it listed 'Edward Masen'," she said, shocking the hell out of me.

"Well…there, are a lot of Edward Masens in this country," I tried reasoning.

"There are seventy five," she said quickly. "But I'm pretty sure you're the right one."

"Why's that?" I asked feeling slightly dizzy.

"Because I checked all their ages and locations, and you're the only one who made sense. Most were old, a few were too young, and others were a race that was incompatible with my pale skin….Besides, everyone always tells me how much I look like that rock star guy….which is _you_, right?"

"Wait…how did you check all the other 'Edward Masens'?" I asked, still trying to form a proper thought.

She sighed, and then looked at me pitifully, as if she felt sorry for my lack of knowledge. "The internet. My friend Claire's dad, is a computer engineer and he taught her everything about everything, and she helped me with my research."

"How old are you again?" I asked baffled by her intelligence.

She rolled her eyes. "I already told you."

She then took off down the hall to where my guest rooms were, so I followed her.

"Which one of these is going to be my room?" she asked while looking in the closets. "Oh, I like this one; it's bigger," she decided, before plopping on the bed. I didn't realize until then that she was wearing a backpack, but she took it off and started digging through it.

"You can't just stay here," I told her finally.

She looked up at me completely heartbroken.

Shit.

"Why? But you're my dad, and I don't have anywhere else to go," she said with tears pooling in her eyes.

I sighed. "Because, I don't know who you are. I have no idea where you came from, but I'm pretty sure someone is looking for you," I told her gently.

"No one is looking for me, I swear. I came from an orphanage in…well, I have been living in a foster home for the last several months, and I can't go back to either. Please don't send me away," she said and the tears spilled over on her cheeks….and for whatever reason, I felt like a huge hole had just ripped open inside of me from the sight of her crying.

"Ok, just…it's ok, you can stay here for a little while," I said in a rush.

And just like that, she dried her eyes and smiled triumphantly.

"Thanks," she said without a hint of sadness. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I could really use a nap. I've come a long way to get here and I'm pooped."

"Ok, yeah, that's a good idea," I said, and then backed out of the room and shut the door so she could rest.

I went into the kitchen feeling extremely bewildered by what just happened, and even a little disorientated.

_What the hell just happened?_

* * *

><p><strong>****And there you go. <strong>

**I know the whole rock star thing is a little cheesy, but hey, it is what it is. It's not about that anyway, the main focus of the rest of this story will be about Edward getting his life back together, and everything else is just a side note. **

**I hope the 'second part' banner makes a little more sense now, and all questions will eventually be answered. **

**P.S. I hate the name Renesmee for a human child, so keep that in mind ;)**

**Are you still with me?  
>Please Review<strong>


	17. Tangles

**Unintended**

**A/N: **_**I just had to laugh at some of your reviews. It goes from some people saying how stupid and ridiculous this has gotten, to others saying how they love it. Oh well, this was always the plan, which is why I put it in two parts so people who don't like it can leave (I can send you the outline if you don't believe me, lol). That's what I love about FF. No one paid money to read this, so you lose nothing for hating it. Thanks for your support until now. Peace out ;) **_

**People have also said how similar this is to 'The Game Plan', and although I definitely see similarities with the mystery kid showing up at 'dad's' place and causing all kinds of issues, that's where the similarities end. This won't be a long drawn out process. I just wanted Edward to have the time with her by himself so he can have the chance to really get to know her, the way he wouldn't have been able to if there was someone else there to take care of her.**

_**Ok, so let's go over all the movies I've pulled into this story. 'Cruel Intentions', 'A Walk to Remember', 'She's All That', and now 'Game Plan', although the last one was unintentional. I've never even seen an entire Rock movie. Lol**_

_**For those still here, on with the show…**_

* * *

><p>~Chapter 17 – <em>Tangles<em> ~

"So, what do you think?" I asked Garrett as we watched Rapunzel playing the claw game at the diner we were at.

Garrett shrugged. "You should probably contact the police," he suggested.

"Yeah, I know I need to, Jazz said the same thing on the phone. I just…I don't know what to do. I mean, what if she's right about the whole abuse thing?" I asked concerned.

"Man…I get that, but you could be arrested if you're caught with her. Obviously she belongs somewhere, so legally, you have to give her back," he reasoned.

"I know…I just….there's just something about this kid that…I don't know, never mind."

"So…did you ask her about her mother?" Garrett asked.

"No…I guess that would help, right?" I said feeling like a moron. "Hey, Rapunzel, come over here!" I called to her.

She came skipping back and flashed that wide grin of hers, then gave a look of faux innocence. "Yes?"

"You said you saw your birth certificate, right?" I asked her.

She nodded with a smile.

"Ok, what did it say under 'Mother'?" I asked her.

Her face fell, and then she started playing with a lock of her long auburn hair. "I didn't read that part," she said without looking up.

"Ok, what's your last name?" I asked her.

"Smith," she said quickly.

"Smith?" I questioned.

"That's a little generic, don't you think?" Garrett asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"I just mean it sounds a lot like a made up name," Garrett challenged her.

"It's not like my name is Doe," she rebutted with attitude. "I grew up all alone in an orphanage, with no family and no one to name me. So they gave me the only name they could think of," she said dramatically.

"Hold on. Why would you grow up in an orphanage?" Garrett continued to question her. "I mean, that doesn't usually happen. Usually, people fall all over themselves to adopt a baby…Actually, I didn't even know there were real orphanages anymore. They're called '_group homes_' now, aren't they?"

She narrowed her eyes angrily at him. "Well….I was adopted, but then….they didn't like me so they gave me back," she said unconvincingly. "And they always called the place an orphanage."

Garrett and I both looked at each other in suspicious disbelief, but I just didn't know what to do about it. "Are you finished eating?" I asked her.

"Yep," she said with a smile. "Are we going to hang out with your band now?" she asked excitedly.

"We do need to go over some stuff," Garrett told me.

"I'm not bringing this kid around them," I told him.

"Why, are they all a bunch of mongrels?" Rapunzal asked with a smile.

"No…I'm more worried about them, than I am about you," I told her with a wink.

"I'm not scary, I never hurt anyone," she said with a giggle.

"Right," I said and couldn't help but smile back at her.

Usually I had a driver or drove myself, but Rapunzal insisted on walking. She said she had never seen such tall buildings, and all she wanted was to stand between them…and how the hell was I supposed to say no to that? So we walked. The weather was nice, and studio we used was only a few blocks from there, so I figured it would be fine.

"Hey-a, I don't mean to rain on your parade with this girl and all, but…." Garrett said hesitantly.

"But what?" I asked, wondering what his hesitation was.

"Out here in the sun…she's definitely got some red in her hair," he said unexpectedly.

Fuck.

"Don't even say it," I said realizing what he was insinuating.

"Man, all I'm saying is that….who else could be her mother. You weren't screwing anyone else around the time this girl was conceived, so…"

"So, maybe she's not my kid at all," I told him coldly. "Just because I haven't handed her over to the cops yet, doesn't mean I actually believe her story."

"Well, then I say we get a DNA test done," he suggested.

"That'll take a week. I can't keep her for that long," I told him. "No…she's not my kid, there's no way; I just need to make sure she's really not being hurt before I send her back."

Except, it was very possible that she was Vicky's kid.

I still refused to believe that I was her kid's father, but she could have easily put my name on the birth certificate. Vicky probably couldn't handle being a mother, so she put her in some run down group home instead of taking the time to find a real home the way I was sure Bella had done with our son. But…what would that mean? Should I just automatically hate the girl because of her mother? That seemed more than a little wrong.

Garrett had texted the others to meet us at the studio, so when we all got there, they were more than a little confused to see Rapunzel.

"This is…Rapunzel. She's hanging with us today," I told them.

"Rapunzel?" Jasper asked confused.

"No, my name is Renesmee. Ru-nez-may," she told them, annoyed by my continued issue with her name. But instead of clearing everything up, the guys just looked more confused.

"Hey," Jasper said while pulling me aside. "I thought you were going to take her into the police?" he asked.

"Yeah…well, I am," I said pathetically. The truth was that I really didn't want to take her to the police, at least not yet. I had no idea why, but I definitely had an overwhelming need to make sure she was safe before I let her go.

"So, why are you hanging with Eddie?" Alec asked Rapunzel. Our main group was still Jasper, Garrett, Ben, and me, but we also had others that played in the background; Alec was just one of them.

"He's my dad," she said proudly.

Fuck.

Alec, Ben, and a few of the other guys looked at me completely flabbergasted.

"Uh…she's just kidding," I said lightly, before grabbing her shirt and pulling her away so I could lay the ground rules.

"Look, you can't be telling people that," I told her quietly.

"But it's true," she said confused.

"Well, until we know that for a fact, we need to just keep that little point to ourselves," I told her frustrated.

"But I do know it as a _fact_," she insisted.

I pressed my lips, and tried to think of a way to make her understand. "Listen, you get that people know me, right…like, I've been on TV and stuff?" she nodded, so I continued. "Well, if people found out about you, then…it might not be such a good thing," I told her.

"Why?" she asked skeptically.

"Because, if people find out that I…was a horrible father and never spent time with you before, they might hate me and not buy my albums anymore," I told her ridiculously. It was definitely low of me, but she actually seemed to understand it.

She thought about it for a moment, and then she nodded. "Yeah, I can see that. I won't tell anyone," she said before going back to the notebook she was doodling in.

I walked back over to the guys, but stopped and stayed hidden around the corner because they were talking about me, and I wanted to see what the hell they were saying.

"Dude, since when does Edward have a kid?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, I thought he was…you know," Felix said.

"What?" Garrett asked him, because it was clear Felix didn't want to continue.

"We always thought he was gay," Alec said without hesitation.

"Gay? Why would you think that?" Jasper asked surprised.

"Well…you know, the guy constantly has chicks around him all the time, who are just begging to give him whatever he wants, and he always ends up going home alone. That's not normal," Alec explained. "

"Yeah, come to think of it, I've never seen him messing around with anyone," Ben added. "And there's nothing wrong with being gay, we never thought of him any differently."

"Edward is definitely not gay," Jasper spoke up. "I've known that guy forever, and he was all about the chicks when he was younger."

"Come on, you guys know he had a difficult time several years ago," Garrett jumped in. "He just hasn't been the same since."

"Like, _ten_ years ago," Ben said suggestively.

"Listen to the fucking words to our songs morons, it's all there," Garrett said irritated.

"All I hear are vague woes, which could be interpreted into a multitude of different scenarios," Alec said quickly.

"Whatever, it's none of your fucking business, so shut the hell up," Garrett told them.

"Wow Gar, does Kate know that you're secretly in love with Edward?" Alec said with a laugh.

"You're an idiot," Jasper said. "Garrett and Edward have been friends for over a decade, that doesn't mean they're in love, moron."

"It was a joke," Alec said defensively.

"Ok, enough gossiping like a bunch of chicks," I told them. "I'm not gay, but my dating life is none of any of your businesses."

"Oh shit! Sorry man, I didn't know you were listening," Alec said embarrassed.

"I'm always listening, dipshit," I told him.

"Hey Edward, I was thinking. I have a really good friend on the police department, I can call in a favor and ask him to run the missing children list to see if there's anything recent matching Rapunzel's description," Jasper suggested.

"Really? You think he'll do that?" I asked feeling slightly relieved.

"Yeah, that way we'll know who's looking for her before turning her in. It should give you a chance to judge if she's telling the truth or not," he added.

"Wait a minute…you actually doubt that kid is yours?" Felix asked incredulously. "She looks just like you."

I just glared at him, and of course he backed down.

When we were finished for the evening, I took Rapunzel back to my place.

"So…do you take a shower before bed?" I asked her.

"Do you?" she asked me.

"Yeah."

"Ok, then I guess I will too," she said with a smirk.

"Well, go ahead. There are towels in the closet," I told her, but of course she already knew that because she had already looked in every single nook and cranny of the place.

Ten minutes later, she came out with her hair wrapped up with a towel on her head.

"I need a brush," she told me.

"You don't have one?" I asked surprised.

"Nope. I forgot it," she said, and then smiled widely at me again. It was an odd thing, it seemed like every time she did something that she thought would upset me, she'd smile in that way. Of course, it was difficult to be angry when looking at her, but still, I was stunned by the way that she was actually playing me.

"Let me see what I can find," I told her. I usually just rolled out of bed in the morning and not cared what my hair looked like, but I supposed I had to have something she could use. "Here," I said after finding a comb.

"I can't use that," she said emotionlessly.

"Why not?" I asked clueless.

"I have very long hair, and you didn't even have any conditioner in there. How do you expect me to get all the tangles out with that?"

"Uh…well, I don't know…but good luck," I told her before forcing the comb into her hand, and going back to the book I was reading.

I actually felt kind of bad, because she spent the next hour and a half sitting there and picking at her hair with the little flimsy comb.

"It broke," she said finally.

"Really?" I asked with a laugh.

"I can't get it out," she said before walking over to me, and practically sitting on my lap to force me to help her.

"Uh…ok," I said reluctantly, before trying to pick through her tangles to try and remove the broken plastic teeth.

…..

"_Edward, I fell asleep with gum in my mouth, and now it's caught in my hair," she said in a panic. "What do I do?"_

"_Calm down, it'll be fine," I said, unaware of just how problematic the situation actually was._

"_Please, help me," she said in tears._

"_Ok, come here," I told her, so she sat in my lap and I tried to take out the gum…crap, it was really stuck. "It's not coming out," I told her._

"_Oh no," she said getting really worked up. _

"_Bree, calm down; I'll get it out," I told her softly._

"_No, you won't, and then mommy will cut all my hair off and I'll be bald," she blubbered._

"_I said I would get it out, and I will," I told her with conviction, so she immediately stopped crying, and nodded. She knew I had never lied to her, and I never would._

_It took over two hours, but eventually, I got every last sticky piece of gum out of her long auburn hair._

…

"What's wrong; why'd you stop?" Rapunzel asked me.

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking about something," I told her, then resumed picking through her hair for the rest of the plastic. "There, all set," I told her before gently scooting her off of me.

"Thanks," she said with a smile before sitting back on the couch and tuning on the TV.

Since she was distracted, I went into the kitchen and made myself a drink; I wasn't a habitual drinker by any means, but I really felt like I needed something at that moment. There were three people I tried like hell to never think about when I wasn't doing music; Bella, our son, and Bree, and every time I did think of one of them accidentally, I knew they wouldn't leave my head again until I had a few drinks. It probably wasn't exactly a healthy practice, but it was the only way I knew how to cope. I never got drunk, so I really didn't worry about being responsible for the kid while I had my drink.

"Drinking alcohol kills brain cells," she said casually when I went to sit in the living room with her.

"Really? Well, you should remember that when you're older," I told her. I had no idea how she even knew I was drinking alcohol anyway, it was in a solid cup.

"I'll never drink, because I don't want to end up stupid," she said, making me actually laugh out loud.

"Ok, good," I told her…and then put down my drink.

After another hour, I realized it was getting late, so I decided it was time for her to go to bed.

"I can't sleep until I have a chocolate milkshake," she said unexpectedly.

"Uh…well, I don't have any milkshake stuff," I told her.

"Can we go get one at McDonalds?" she asked with her grin.

"No," I said, refusing to bend on that one.

"Well then I can't sleep," she said while crossing her arms.

"What kind of orphanage or foster home goes and gets you a milkshake every night?" I asked with narrowed eyes.

She paused and then bit her lower lip, sending me straight in a déjà vu, though I had no idea of what.

"Well, they did it because they knew I couldn't sleep without it, and they didn't want to hear me cry all night," she said in a rush.

I stared at her for a moment, and then I shook my head. "Sorry, not buying it," I told her before pulling down the covers for her to get in.

She looked at me completely shocked, and then her face distorted and she began crying.

So, I took her to McDonalds…I was seriously a spineless moron.

"Can we got to Wal-Mart after this?" she asked.

"Why?" I said through gritted teeth. _What the hell was this girl going to demand next?_

"I forgot my toothbrush," she said innocently.

"It's ten thirty at night. I'll buy you one tomorrow," I told her frustrated.

"I can't wait that long. I'm drinking a milkshake and my teeth will rot if I wait," she insisted.

"One night of not brushing your teeth isn't going to hurt anything," I told her.

"Are you a dentist?" she asked.

"No."

"Then how do you know?" she asked full of attitude….so I took her to the damn store. Fuck!

But of course, she needed to look through each the fifty different kid's toothbrushes before making her choice.

And then we just had to stop by the toy section because she also forgot a stuffed animal to sleep with.

Finally, forty five minutes after first going into the store, we took her toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, stuffed lion, new socks, yogurt and bananas for the morning, and popsicles to the cash register.

And of course, she fell asleep in the car on the way home. _Great._

I carried her up to my place, and had the door man bring up the bags. When I laid her in the bed, I couldn't help but watch her sleep for a few minutes, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks….

When I was younger, during brief moments of failing numbness, I'd sometimes find myself wondering how Bree would have turned out if she would have been allowed to age. Rapunzel was still young and only a few years older than Bree was, but she was exactly how I imagined Bree would have turned out.

_Shit._

It was hard to deny what was right in front of my face, Felix was right; she did look like me…because she looked like Bree. Same hair, same innocently mischievous smile, same face. Either she was Bree reincarnate, which I definitely didn't believe in, or she had to be my kid.

So, I stayed up all night, freaking the hell out of myself. What the fuck was I supposed to do? On the off chance that I was imagining things, I decided to get a DNA test done first thing in the morning. I knew it took like a week for the results to come in, and there was no way I could keep her that long, but if she was mine, then I'd do whatever I possibly could to get custody.

"So what are we going to do today?" Rapunzel asked the next morning as she was eating her yogurt.

"Look, you can't just stay here like this. I could get into a lot of trouble, even be put in jail for keeping you here."

"You can? Why?" she asked surprised.

"Because I don't have custody of you. Someone must be looking for you by now, and I'm sure they're going to contact the police. I can get arrested for kidnapping," I told her slowly.

"I told you already, no one is looking for me. Besides, you can't be charged for kidnapping your own kid," she said.

"Genetics don't matter in the eyes of the law. Legally, I have no rights to you."

"Oh," she said, and then laid back against her seat in a defeated position. "So, you're going to take me back then?"

"I'm going to have to…but first, we need to go somewhere," I told her. "So finish up so you can go get dressed."

"Ok," she said sadly.

When she was back in her room changing her clothes, I called Jasper.

"So, did your cop friend find anything?" I asked him.

"Strangely enough, no. There's no missing kid with the name Renesmee Smith. In fact, there's no missing kid matching her description at all. Unless she's lying about her name, age, and ethnicity…no one seems to be looking for her, and the search was nationwide."

Fuck…What the hell was going on?

"Ok, thanks Jazz. I'll see you later."

"Sure, just let me know if there's anything else you need," he said and then we hung up.

When Rapunzel was ready, I took her down to the hospital and had the test done, though by that point, I really wasn't questioning her paternity anymore, it was her mother that I was confused by.

"Why are they putting that in your mouth?" she asked when the nurse was swabbing my cheek.

"Oh, I'm just checking him for silly bugs," the nurse answered for me.

"Silly bugs?" she asked.

"Yeah, they're tiny bugs that live in the mouth that can make people extremely silly," the nurse replied.

"That's not real," Rapunzel said quickly.

"No? Well let's check you now, and see," she said. Rapunzel opened her mouth, and the nurse swabbed her, before putting the Q-tip in a bag, and then tickling her. "Yep, definitely silly bugs," she told her.

"We'll have the results in six to ten days," the nurse told me.

"Thanks," I said sincerely.

"No problem," she said before taking our samples and leaving.

"What's for lunch?" Rapunzel then asked casually.

I laughed. "Are you always hungry?"

"Yes," she stated.

I laughed again. "Ok, let's go."

Even though I promised myself that I was going to take her into the police, due to the fact that Jasper said that no one was looking for her, I decided it could wait a little longer. She said no one was looking for her also, so if she wasn't lying about that, then I had to assume she wasn't lying about the abuse as well. And there was no way in hell I'd let _anyone_ lay another finger on her.

After we ate lunch, we went to the park to burn off some energy.

"Why do you wear that hat everywhere?"she asked me as she went to sit on the swings.

"Because I don't like to brush my hair," I told her with a smile.

"But it's warm out and that a beanie," she said. "Why don't you wear a ball cap or something?"

I shrugged. "I like this one, its comfortable."

"Or…do you hide behind it? Nobody ever seems to recognize you, even though you're a singer," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess that too," I admitted.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here," Garrett said as he and his girlfriend walked up to us.

"Out running?" I asked them. They were wearing workout clothes, so it was pretty obvious.

"Yep, we have to get rid of this gut," Kate said playfully while rubbing Garrett's stomach.

"Hey, I'm a drummer, no one ever sees my stomach," Garrett said defensively.

"And who's this pretty little girl?" Kate asked Rapunzel.

"My name is Renesmee. Ru-nez-may," she emphasized.

"Oh that's right, Garrett told me that Edward got a new stylist," she said with a smile.

Rapunzel giggled. "No, I'm his daughter….I mean, _friend,_" she said to me with a wink.

"Oh…you know what, I love your hair, it's so pretty, but it looks a little tangled. I have my brush in my bag, do you mind me fixing it for you?" Kate asked her sweetly.

"Really, will you?" she asked excitedly. "I hate having knots."

"Sure, come on," Kate said and then took her hand before skipping off together towards the picnic tables.

"She's really good with kids," I told Garrett.

"Yeah, she keeps pressuring me into marriage, but I think it's just cause she wants a baby. By the way, I hope you don't mind me telling her about the kid," he said apologetically.

"Nah, I know you tell her everything. It's cool."

"So, have you made any decisions about her yet?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Jasper's friend said there's no one looking for her, so I have no idea what to do."

"That's so weird," he said.

"I know."

"Any more ideas about her mom?"

"No…and I don't even want to think about it," I said honestly.

"You don't want to think about it because you already know, don't you?" he assumed.

I clinched my jaw and shook my head. "I was with Bella then. I didn't cheat on her…but…there was the Vicky thing, so….I don't know what else to think. I absolutely hate it…_but I don't hate her._ I just can't look at Rapunzel and see that bitch Vicky though. I mean there's absolutely nothing similar about them except the reddish tint to her hair."

"What do you see when you look at her then?" he asked me.

As much as I didn't want to think about it, I thought about it. "Bree," I said honestly. "She looks like Bree."

Garrett nodded. "Wow, that's the easiest I've ever heard you say her name before."

"I know, it's strange. I've been running from her memory for so long, but now that I'm around this kid, it's hard to escape her. I always figured that not thinking about Bree was for the best…but maybe I was wrong."

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed.

Ten minutes later, Rapunzel came skipping back to us with her hair in a perfect braid, and Kate trailing behind her.

"Wow, cool," I said. "Thanks Kate," I told her.

"Any time," Kate replied warmly.

"Well, we should get going. My gut's not going to run itself off," Garrett said jokingly.

"All right, see ya," I told them.

"Bye, thanks," Rapunzel said sweetly.

We stayed at the park for awhile longer, and then we went back to the apartment and decided to watch a movie. We popped popcorn, and had a movie marathon. Strangely enough, she loved all things 'Star Wars', so we sat there for the rest of the day, and watched the first three of them…the original three, not the prequels….of course when it came to 'Return of the Jedi', I had another unwanted memory.

Darth Vader, with his helmet off, telling Luke he was right about him…..ugly baby, making noises at me as I sat in the waiting room of Bella's OBGYN. It was that baby, who looked like Darth Vader, which forced me to go in to find Bella that day. It was going in there, and seeing the ultrasound that made me believe that perhaps I could be a parent for the first time…And there I was watching that movie, and thinking about that ugly baby, and the amazing ultrasound, with an equally amazing little girl.

It all felt right, and yet made no sense whatsoever.

"Ok, bed time," I told her when it was finally over. Putting her to bed for the second time was actually really odd. It felt real and normal, in an extremely abnormal surreal way. Something as simple as tucking a kid in bed, was so beyond what I thought would ever happen to me, and yet, it fit.

It felt good to care about something again after feeling nothing for so long, but then, we had a setback.

"What's this?" I asked her as I was saying goodnight.

"That's the stuffed lion you bought me," she said, confused as to why I asked.

"Yeah, I realize that," I said coldly. "What is _on_ it?"

"Oh, I found this, and didn't think you'd mind me using it. I think it looks good, don't you?" she asked innocently.

"No, I don't," I said through gritted teeth. "Take it off, right now."

"Why, I like it," she said getting upset.

"I don't care if you like it. Take it off!" I yelled.

She was shocked that I yelled at her, and quite frankly, so was I. But I just couldn't stand seeing my son's elf costume on her stuffed toy. It was something I had carried with me for a decade, but I had kept it just as I kept all my memories and emotions, close, but always hidden away.

"Fine!" she yelled back, and took off the costume before throwing it across the room. "It's ugly anyway," she said with tears streaming down her face.

Her throwing it just made me more angry, but I used every last ounce of self restraint I had, to not yell again. I didn't want to scare her, I just wanted her to understand that there were some things that were off limit.

"You just need to ask before you take things that don't belong to you," I told her as calmly as I was capable of.

"Just leave me ALONE!" she yelled again and then rolled over in bed and pulled the covers over her head. So I left her alone.

I went to my bed then, but I couldn't sleep. I worried about my anger, but I also worried that Rapunzel would disappear from my apartment as easily as she appeared. She obviously got to me on her own, so she was fully capable of leaving by herself, and the thought of it scared the shit out of me. She was far too young to be traveling alone, but even more than that, I just didn't want her to go.

It had only been two days, but it was already difficult for me to remember what it was like before her.

So, instead of risking her leaving because she was upset, I decided to sleep in the living room where I'd be sure to hear if she went to unlock the front door.

But then the dreams came back….

* * *

><p><strong>***OK, baby momma drama coming next, and if you just can't wait to find out, then feel free to ask for a spoiler and I'll tell you. But we all know I'm fast with my updates, so I highly suggest being patient. All questions will be answered soon. Just a little advice though, don't assume things, especially negative things, because you may be way off and getting upset about nothing.<strong>

***Did I lose anyone else with this chapter? Lol  
>Please Review<strong>


	18. Here

**Unintended**

A/N: A few people asked for spoilers, but they have their PM turned off and my reply was denied. So if you'd like me to get back to you, make sure your messaging is turned on and you sign in. Thanks!

_For a reason that puzzles me, a few people don't know who Bree is…Uh…? Perhaps if you don't know then you've missed a few chapters, because she was a major cause of a lot of Edward's issues. She was his sister, and she, along with his mother, was killed in a murder suicide by his father. Edward was almost killed as well, but he managed to survive –chapter 6 'Pain' (although, she has been mentioned throughout the story). You may want to go back and re-read if you don't remember._

_Here we go…_

* * *

><p>~Chapter 18 – <em>Here<em>~

"_Edward," her little voice was echoed, and I couldn't see her, but I knew she needed my help so I wasn't going to stop until I found her._

"_Where are you?" I called out._

"_I'm here!" she said, but I still couldn't find her. I felt like I was in the movie 'Poltergeist', where I knew she was close, but just beyond my reach._

"_Where?" I asked her desperately. _

"_Please, come find me!" she cried._

_My heart was racing, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. But suddenly, I was back at the Cullen's house. _

"_You failed her," Carlisle said disappointedly._

"_I know, but I'm trying to make it better," I told him honestly._

"_You can't make it better, not until you make yourself better," he told me intensely._

"_How do I do that?" I asked frustrated._

"_It's here," he said, and then pointed at his book shelf. I had thought we were just in his living room, but as I looked around more, I realized we were actually in his office._

"_What is it?" I asked confused._

_Suddenly Carlisle's face morphed into my father's. "It's all here, Edward. Come home," he said._

"_No, I can't leave until I find her…she's lost," I told him. At that moment, I wasn't exactly sure who the 'she' was that I was looking for so desperately, but I still couldn't stop my search._

"_No, she's here," my dad told me, but then his face melted back into Carlisle's again. "Come back home, Edward," he said before actually slowly disappearing. _

_What the fuck?_

…

_I woke up with a start, and found myself back in my New York apartment bedroom. I got up and used the bathroom, before remembering that Rapunzel was upset, so I went back to her room to check to make sure she was still there and sleeping. Her face was still under the covers, but I could see her hair sprawled out all over the pillow._

_I sighed a breath of relief, and then went back to the door….but a sinking feeling engulfed me, so for whatever reason, I decided to go back to her bed and pull the covers off her face._

"_Shit!" I jumped as she sat straight up and stared at me….except it wasn't Rapunzel, it was Bree. "What are you doing here?" I asked as my heart raced._

"_Are you my daddy?" she asked unexpectedly._

"_No, Bree, it's me, Edward," I told her unexpectedly._

"_If you're not my daddy, then what have you been so afraid of?" she asked._

_I stared at her, and suddenly the entire room started shaking._

"_I'm afraid of being like him," I told her, trying like hell to ignore the shaking._

"_You're not like him Edward," she told me. "Ask him."_

"_Ask who, what?" I asked so confused._

"_Ask him," she said while pointing behind me._

_I turned around, and Carlisle was there again._

"_Come home!" he said sternly._

…

I woke up again, except this time I was on the couch and covered in sweat.

"What the fuck?" I said to myself…. but then I needed to check on Rapunzel. I jumped up, and ran down the hall to the room she was sleeping, before slowly opening the door and going inside.

Just like in my dream, her head was covered, with only sprawls of hair popping out.

"Shit," I said quietly…_when will this nightmare finally end?_

"You shouldn't curse," she mumbled.

"Rapunzel?" I whispered.

"It's Ru-nez-may," she said groggily.

Thank god, I was finally actually awake.

"Hey, why aren't you sleeping?" I asked her.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" she rebutted.

"I was, but then I had a bad dream," I told her honestly.

"Oh, you have nightmares about clowns too?" she assumed.

I laughed once softly. "No, not about clowns…. Hey, I'm sorry for yelling at you before," I told her sincerely.

"I'm sorry I took the costume," she said quietly back.

I smiled. "It's ok…" my heart started pounding, and sweat beaded up on my temple as I considered what I was about to say, but then I said it anyway. "You know, I think you should have the costume after all," I told her.

"Really?" she asked skeptically.

"Yeah," I said while picking up her lion. "I think he looks better as an elf," I told her with a wink.

"Thanks Edward," she said with a smile.

For some reason, when she called me 'Edward', my stomach actually churned. I knew I wasn't ready to claim her as mine, but I just really wasn't expecting her to call me by my first name either. I would have been surprised if she called me 'dad' also, so I really had no idea what I expected or what would seem right.

"Hey, do you want to go on a trip with me?" I asked her.

"Like vacation?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, kind of like that," I told her.

"Ok. When?" she asked eagerly.

"Now. Why don't you get dressed then pack up all your stuff," I told her.

"Ok," she said with a wide grin.

I went into my room to pack a backpack of my own, and then called Garrett.

"Yo?" he answered. It was early in the morning, before dawn, but I knew he'd answer his phone, he always did.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving town for a few days," I told him.

"Oh Edward, please tell me you're not planning to take the kid over state lines," he said unexpectedly.

"Yes, that's what I'm planning. I'm going back to Washington," I explained.

"Ah man, Edward, you can't do that," he said quickly.

"Why not? Look, if she is my kid, then she had to have been conceived there. Maybe there's something I can do to figure it out…ask people questions, or something," I told him. It was really only the excuse I was using, because if I told him that I had a dream saying I needed to go there, he'd probably have me committed.

"If you want to ask questions, hang up the phone with me, and call the Cullens. Edward, it's a federal crime to take a child across state lines without permission from their legal guardian."

"Well, I'm not planning on going _across_ state lines, I'm planning on flying over them," I said jokingly.

"Man, this is serious," he chided. "You could go to jail for a long time," he tried reasoning.

Fuck, he was right.

"Ok, I guess I'll just think of something else, then," I told him and then hung up.

'_Come home NOW!' _Carlisle's voice yelled in my head.

"Shit, what am I supposed to do?" I asked myself while rubbing my hands aggressively over my face.

"I'm ready," Rapunzel came in and said with a huge grin. She had her backpack on, and her stuffed lion _wearing the elf costume_ in her hands, and I knew then that I didn't really have a choice.

"What the fuck," I mumbled so quietly that she didn't hear me. "Ok, go to the bathroom," I told her.

I wasn't sure what kind of ID she would need to get on a plane, so I called Jasper. He always seemed to know shit like that, and he was probably still up for the night; he lived like a fucking vampire, sleeping during the day and awake all night whenever possible.

"She doesn't need anything man," he said unexpectedly.

"Really?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah, I have a few friends that fly with kids all the time, and they've never had to show identification for them whatsoever. Just, when you buy the tickets, put hers with your last name, that way they won't ask questions," he suggested.

"It just seems odd that they wouldn't check the kids for ID. I mean, anyone can just take any kid anywhere," I said.

"Yeah…well, some airlines ask for a birth certificate sometimes, but for most domestic flights, they just don't care," he said. "So, you're really going back to Forks?"

"I just need to take care of some things," I told him.

"Are you going to see the Cullens?" he asked slyly.

"I don't know yet…I guess; I just really have no idea what to say to them after a decade," I said honestly.

"Yeah, I hear that. So, why are you going if you aren't going for them?" he asked.

"I really don't know for sure. But I just…feel like I need to go. I'm hoping I'll figure it all out when I get there."

"Ok, cool. Good luck bro, and…if you do see the Cullens, tell them hi for me," he said, and I could almost even hear the smile in his voice.

"Sure man; if I see them, I'll tell _Alice_ hi for you," I told him knowingly.

He laughed. "Ok, thanks man."

I grabbed my backpack, and then called to Rapunzal so we could leave. I realized that taking her to Washington was definitely a risk, but it was a risk that I had to take. I knew my dreams of Carlisle and Bree were only the beginning if I didn't go back, and I couldn't go another ten years with it haunting me.

"Where are we going?" Rapunzel asked curiously as we went down to the car.

"I told you, vacation," I said with a smile.

But then her face dropped into one of concern, and she bit her lower lip.

"What is it?" I asked her worriedly.

"I have to tell you something," she said hesitantly.

"Ok, what is it?" I asked her.

"Maybe we shouldn't go anywhere," she said unexpectedly.

"Why not?" I asked her surprised.

She grabbed a lock of her hair and started twirling it around her fingers, while biting her lower lip again. "Maybe…maybe I should…Never mind, let's go," she said with a forced smile.

"You sure?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Ok," I told her, and then we went to the airport.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't slightly nervous while we walked through security. If someone stopped us and asked questions, I was fairly certain I could talk my way out of it, I was always good at bullshitting, but if they asked for her birth certificate, we were seriously screwed.

And then, the worst happened, we were stopped. _Fuck._

"What's your relationship to the child?" the heavyset TSA worker asked.

"Um, I'm her dad," I said as confidently as possible.

"Do you have her birth certificate?" he asked coldly.

"I was told that wouldn't be necessary," I responded quickly.

"New policy," he said carelessly.

"Oh, well we left it at home, but we really need to get on this plane," I told him.

"No birth certificate, no board," he said without even looking up.

"Fuck," I let slip. The man slowly raised his head to glare at me.

"Sorry," I said quietly.

"Wait a minute…are you?" he asked me, before looking back down at my ID. "Holy shit, you are…you're Edward Masen!" he said enthusiastically.

"Shh," I hushed him before anyone had a chance to notice.

I was usually pretty good about blending in, and never used airport security or anything else when I traveled, but I must have let my guard down due to nerves, and this oaf caught me.

"Oh right, sorry. Man, my daughter is a huge fan of yours, would you mind signing this for me?" he asked quietly.

"Uh sure. What's her name?" I asked.

"Rick," he said quickly. I glanced at his nametag, and smirked at the fact that it read 'Rick', but I didn't comment on it.

I signed the paper, and then handed it back to him.

"Do you mind if we just go through, our plane is going to board soon," I told him.

"Of course you can… by the way, I loved your last single," he said with a grin.

"Thanks," I told him, and then pushed Rapunzel forward so she would walk through.

When we started putting our shoes back on, she started laughing. "That guy was really funny. He said the autograph was for his daughter, but it wasn't, it was for him."

"Yeah, people get embarrassed sometimes," I said amused by her giggles.

"I bet he's really a nice guy, just a little grumpy because he has to sit there all day," she said.

"Yeah, you're probably right," I told her.

"My…_friend,_ always says, people who are grumpy, are probably really just sad and don't know how to express their feelings accurately," she said seriously.

"You know, you really don't talk like most ten year olds," I said.

"How many ten year olds do you know?" she asked curiously.

"Uh…none, but you still seem…mature for your age."

"My teacher says I'm really smart, and I'm in advanced reading classes," she explained.

"Yeah, I believe it," I said with a laugh. "Hey, when is your birthday anyway?" I asked her, wondering why the hell I never asked her before.

"September tenth," she said quickly.

"September tenth?... so, you're going to turn eleven this fall?" I asked confused.

"Um…"

"Now boarding, all first class passengers for flight 513 to Seattle," someone announced over the loud speaker.

"Oh, that's us," I said quickly.

"That's us?" she asked nervously. "We're going to Seattle?"

"Yep, come on," I told her.

Rapunzel was very quiet as we walked on the plane, and even when we sat, she seemed extremely anxious.

"Are you ok?" I asked her concerned.

"I've never been in first class before," she said with a shaky voice. "And this is only my second time in an airplane."

"Oh," I said in understanding. "Well, don't worry about it, I fly all the time."

She nodded, but then she leaned over the arm rests and clamped onto my arm, and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Everything's going to be fine," I murmured. "I would never let anything hurt you," I told her, but almost immediately, I regretted it. That was one of the last things I had said to Bree before she was murdered, so I spent the rest of the flight freaken terrified that the plane was going to crash.

I was seriously deranged.

Rapunzel slept most of the way, and when I wasn't jumping at every single bump of turbulence, I was trying to figure out how I was going to handle the Cullens…_if that's where I decided to go._

But of course, that's exactly where I needed to go, because for whatever reason, I dreamed of Carlisle, and if there was something important there that I needed to do or know, then Carlisle would be the one to tell me.

"Hey, wake up," I whispered to her when we were set to land.

"We're already there?" she asked groggily.

"Just about. You've been asleep for a long time."

She yawned and stretched, and then looked out of the window.

"There's not much to see. It's all fog," I told her.

"It's always foggy here," she said with a sigh.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "How do you know that?"

"I like the Weather Channel," she said quickly.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"Yep."

She grabbed my hand as the plane descended, and continued to hold it until the plane pulled up to the gate. It actually felt strangely comforting to hold her hand, it was like a wave of calm washed over me knowing that all I really had to do was keep her safe, and everything else didn't really matter.

After we landed, I rented a car and drove straight towards Forks.

"Hey," I said while nudging Rapunzal playfully. "What's up with you? You're not talking my ear off like you have every other minute I've know you."

She shrugged. "I'm nervous," she said unexpectedly as she continued to stare blankly out the window.

"Nervous? Why?" I asked. I knew why I was nervous, but she didn't seem like the type of kid to get nervous about anything. How does a she go from waltzing into a stranger's home, to being nervous on 'vacation'? Because that's all she thought we were doing.

The closer we got to Forks, the more anxious I grew. A part of me wanted to see the Cullens again, just to see how they were all doing, but most of me was a pathetic coward and never wanted to see any of them again.

As I drove through town, I tried to conceal my face as much as possible because the last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to myself. It had nothing to do with the celebrity thing, I just had no desire to see anyone in that fucking place whatsoever. I just needed to figure out why the hell I had that dream, and perhaps figure out where Rapunzel came from.

But when I finally pulled up to the Cullen house, all I wanted to do was escape.

I just sat there in front of the house, and stared for an immeasurable amount of time…and oddly enough, Rapunzel didn't say a word. Did she possibly know what a difficult time I was having? Was she trying to give me a moment to collect myself? I just didn't know.

But I couldn't just sit there in the car all day, I needed to man up and go inside. Of course, I had no idea what to do with Rapunzel when I did go to speak to Carlisle. I certainly needed some time alone with him to discuss things that may not be kid friendly, and having her there was just going to make everything more awkward.

"Hey Rapunzel, just hang out here in the car for a few, Ok?" I told her, having no idea what else to do. It wasn't hot out, so she would be fine in that department, and the house was in an obscure location so she was in no danger of strangers walking by. I gave her my iPod, so I was sure she'd be ok for awhile.

"Mmhmm," she mumbled while distractedly shuffling through my music list.

I briefly thought about the possibility that the Cullens could have moved away by then, but then I saw Esme's familiar patio furniture and perfect garden, which only Esme could accomplish. Of course they still lived there; I wasn't surprised. It was their dream home after all.

I knocked softly and waited, but no one answered.

Shit.

I should have know they'd be at work, it was a weekday after all. But just for the hell of it, I jiggled the door knob, and surprisingly, it opened….so I walked in slowly.

"Hello?" I called out reluctantly.

"Yeah, back here!" someone called back. I recognized the voice, but I couldn't place it, so I tentatively walked towards the kitchen to where the voice came from.

"Hello?" I asked again.

"Yeah, the broken sink is back here."

I turned the corner, and then peeked into the kitchen and saw someone with their legs hanging out from under the sink.

"Excuse me?" I said, but my voice was suddenly thick with nerves.

"I've been trying to fix it myself, but I just can't seem to get it right. Thanks for coming on such short notice," she said as she crawled out and stood in front of me. "And, you're not the handy man."

My entire body immediately started to tremble as I stared into her perfect face. The passing decade had done nothing to lessen her flawlessness, but above everything else, what I really wanted to do was throw up.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked quietly after a minute.

"I could ask you the same question," I asked absently. But it was just an automatic response, because my brain was in a fogged mess.

"I'm here helping Esme and Carlisle," she replied.

_God, she was beautiful. _

"Edward, what are you doing here?" she asked again, but this time there was a strong undertone of harsh resentment. She started moving around the kitchen and cleaning up stuff, which was a complete déjà vu of when she texted me that night, so long ago, and I had come over to her house, only for her to begin straightening out her living room to avoid talking….the night I got her pregnant.

I didn't want to think about that night, I didn't want to think about her at all. I really wanted to run out the door and hide in a hole for another decade, but I couldn't escape, and running seemed impossible at that moment. I needed to wake up, say what I needed to say, do what I came to do, and then be on my way and let Bella return to living her life free of a jackass like me.

"I'm just surprised you've kept in touch with them all this time," I mumbled in a rush.

She took a heavy breath. "No Edward, not everyone runs away and pushes people out of their lives because things get hard," she said bitterly.

I didn't know what to say, I was completely at a loss. I never expected to see her again, and even though I knew there was a possibility of her still being in town, I was sure I'd be able to slip in and out without running into her.

And then I realized the seriousness of the situation. Bella was there, and I had a girl in the car who claimed to be my kid. What would that do to Bella if she were to see her? Would it upset her even more than she already was? Would it make her painfully think about our son? I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't handle the thought of hurting her ever again. I needed to get out before Bella had the chance to run into Rapunzel.

But, I was too late. I had no idea why, but Rapunzel got out of the car and walked right into the house, and straight to where we were.

Shit.

Bella stared at her, and Rapunzel stared back.

And then a look of pure shock plastered onto Bella's face as she looked back and forth between Rapunzel and me. It was as if she realized exactly who we were to each other right away, which was something that I still hadn't accepted completely myself. But she knew Rapunzel was mine, it was obvious, so denying it was pointless.

"Uh…Bella, this is…" I started to introduce her, but Bella refused to look at me.

"Carlie Breanna Cullen, what the hell are you doing here?" Bella yelled furiously.

"Hi mom," Rapunzel replied sheepishly.

_What the hell?_

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><p><strong>***AHHH! LOL<strong>

**So, as many have already guessed, the ultrasound was wrong. And before anyone says that doesn't happen anymore, I can assure you that it does. My niece, who is currently seven years old, was supposed to be a boy. We had an entire blue baby shower, and whoops, lol. **

**I know there are a lot of questions, and I promise, answers coming next!**

**Please Review**


	19. Answers

**Unintended**

A/N: Yep, like the chapter title says, this one is all about getting answers, so this chapter has A LOT of info. I thought it was best for them to hash it ALL out, all at the same time; so be prepared for a lot of talking. We'll move on with the advancement of the story, next.

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><p>~Chapter 19 – <em>Answers<em>~

"Uh…Bella, this is…" I started to introduce her, but Bella refused to look at me.

"Carlie Breanna Cullen, what the hell are you doing here?" Bella yelled furiously.

"Hi mom," Rapunzel replied sheepishly.

_What the hell?_

"How did you get here…and with him?" Bella snapped.

"Mom, I can explain," Rapunzel said quickly.

"I'm waiting," Bella said impatiently.

"Ok, here it goes…I know I'm supposed to be at camp, but I just had to go to New York and find my dad."

"What? You were in New York? Carlie, how the hell did you get all the way to New York?" Bella asked exasperated.

"Zafrina," she mumbled.

"Oh. My. God!" she said incredulously.

"Hold Up, what the hell is going on here?" I asked finally. I was thoroughly confused, and I needed an explanation before I completely lost my mind.

"I sort of…_fibbed_ a bit," Rapunzel said to me guiltily.

"Carlie, go upstairs so I can talk to Edward," Bella told Rapunzel sternly.

"So…I guess I'm in a lot of trouble then, huh?" she asked Bella tentatively.

"Yeah, I'd say so. Go, and we'll talk in a minute," Bella instructed her.

'_Sorry'_, Rapunzel mouthed to me before turning and running towards the stairs.

"So, she just showed up at your apartment?" Bella asked me, but I had a few things I needed to ask first.

"She's yours," I stated. Obviously, I had already figured that out by their interaction, but I still needed to hear her say it.

"Of course she's mine. Who else's would she be?" Bella asked strongly.

"I …I thought she might have been….. You were pregnant with a boy?" I said, changing the direction of my comment.

"Yeah well, determining sex prenatally isn't a hundred percent accurate unless there's an amnio," she said, taking me aback. Never once did I consider that fact, and it actually made me feel like the biggest moron on the face of the planet. Of course she was Bella's, it was the only thing that really made any sense.

"So…she's who we saw in that ultrasound…the one the doctor said was really active," I mused, mostly to myself. I couldn't believe it. The image of the unborn baby in Bella's abdomen had haunted me for over a decade, and I never expected to see that child in life. But she was there, and she was absolutely amazing.

"Look, I don't know how or why she went after you like that, but thank you for bringing her back," she said and then started walking towards the front door, as if she was dismissing me.

She opened the door and waited for me to leave, but there was no way in hell I was going anywhere, and just the thought of it made me extremely angry. I walked over to her, and slammed the door shut in front of us.

"You said you were…" I looked towards the stairs to make sure Rapunzal wasn't listening, and thankfully she wasn't, but I still lowered my voice. "Putting her up for adoption. So what the hell happened?" I whisper-yelled. I had been cheated out of a life with my daughter, and I was beyond pissed.

"Yeah, I said that, and for about three days, I meant it," she said in a tone that matched mine. "But I was also a scared shitless teenage who was about to give birth, with the idea that my baby's father could possibly have another kid on the way with someone else."

"Whoa, don't give me that bullshit. You said you believed me about all that!" I said infuriated.

"I did believe you, _at least I wanted to_, but I still had some doubts…all I knew for sure was that neither of us were in the proper place to be parents. You still left that day. You overreacted because of the name I suggested for the baby, and you ran away. Regardless of what else was done_ to_ you those two days that you were missing for, if you could have controlled yourself and stayed to talk to me about it, none of it would have happened. I was terrified when the Vicky thing came up, and it just all became too much. My friend Angela was adopted, and while I was staying with her for those few days, she said it was the best thing that ever happened to her; so I thought that perhaps it was better for our child too."

"So, Angela talked you into it?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"No, but she did make me realize that it wasn't such a horrible decision. I thought having someone else raise our child would be better for her…give her stability since we were obviously falling apart."

"But _obviously_, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!" I exploded while gesturing towards the stairs where Rapunzel had gone.

"SHH!" she hushed me suggestively, and then grabbed my arm before pulling me outside.

When we were safely out of hearing range from Rapunzel, I took a deep breath to try to calm myself, and then continued.

"How could you do this to me? You knew I didn't want to give the baby up," I said feeling completely betrayed.

"I thought it was for the best at that moment, and then you left and yes, I changed my mind but you were already gone by then."

"I wasn't going to sit there and watch you give my baby to STRANGERS!" I yelled again.

"And I told you that I wouldn't do anything AGAINST YOUR WILL!" she yelled back. "I gave birth to her three days after you left, Edward. You could have waited, but no, you ran away like you did every other time things got hard."

"Why didn't you come after me to tell me that you decided to keep her? Obviously, I wasn't hard to find if a ten year old could find me."

"We tried to find you, Edward! You disappeared for five years without a word. You didn't even send a fucking letter to tell the Cullens you were ok. We contacted all your friends to see if you got in touch with any of them, Carlisle even hired a private investigator…but _nothing_!"

I thought about it for a moment, and realized that once again, she was right; it was all definitely my fault. When I first left and worked at the garage in Chicago, I worked off the books and got paid under the table. I had nothing in my name, not car, no apartment, absolutely nothing to put me on the grid, so to speak. Then it took a good five years at least for the band to have any real success, and during that time we traveled a lot. So, I guess I could see it being difficult to locate me.

"What happened after those first five years?" I asked a little quieter.

Because I lowered my voice, she took a deep cleansing breath, and calmed down a bit as well. "We just happened to be here for dinner one night, and Alice had just moved back home for awhile, and she suddenly she just started screaming. Esme and I were in the kitchen, everyone else was playing with Carlie outside, and we all came running to her aid…only she didn't need help. She had seen you, along with Jasper and Garrett, on TV in some new band. We all just watched in shock, and of course Alice began researching."

"So why didn't you come then? You should have been able to find me after that," I said losing all anger from my voice.

"We tried," Bella said jadedly. "We searched for your home address or a number to reach you, but of course those weren't listed. So we sent word through your production company, and even sent a letter into your fan mail address, but obviously none of it got to you….Alice has been to six of your concerts…she even got backstage passes to try to get into a position to talk to you. But by the time she waited in the huge line to get back there, you guys were already gone and she said that all was left was your back up musicians. She even gave those guys a note to give to you, but we never heard back."

_Fuck!_

"So…you tried," I said no louder than a whisper.

"We all did. And you have no right to come here and be pissed at me. Yes, I made a rash decision when I was an extremely hormonal scared shitless seventeen year old, but once I saw her, I knew there was no way I could let her go. I would have never intentionally cut you out of her life. It hasn't always been easy…and she is definitely a handful, but I have never regretted keeping her for a moment. I'm sorry I ever brought up the adoption thing, I made a mistake, but you shouldn't have left like that."

I felt like I was going to be sick again. My own stupidity and paranoid fears got in the way of being in my kid's life. Bella pushed me away that day, but I shouldn't have let her. I should have pushed back and known that she loved the baby and wouldn't have been able to go through with it. I was really fucking pathetic. Bella had spent nine months loving that baby with every intention of raising it, and only a few days thinking she would give her up, so of course she changed her mind. _God, I really hated myself at that moment._

"Bella…I'm sorry," I said, though the words just seemed belittling somehow. It was as if a few little words were supposed to right all the wrongs I had done against her, which was utterly ridiculous. For the life of me however, I didn't know what else to say. But I sure as hell was going to do whatever I could to set things right.

She ran her fingers through her hair, and scratched her scalp before pulling hard. I never saw her do that before, but it seemed like she was trying to calm down as well, and let go of some of the tension.

"Look, I'm not saying that I'm free of blame here, because I'm not, not even in the slightest," she said unexpectedly. "But…it's been ten years, and after awhile…it's just easier to move on. I just never expected that you would show up out of the blue like this…and I guess that you didn't. Tell me, would you have ever come back if she didn't go looking for you?" she asked me and then waited for me to respond, but she already knew the answer.

"No, I wouldn't have. But Bella, why would I? I didn't think there was anything left here for me. You had the divorce and adoption papers all there ready for me to sign, so I did. I was expelled from school, and I had some lunatic claiming I got her pregnant_, when I knew I didn't_. There was just nothing left."

"I'm really sorry for what you went through, and I don't mean to be angry here or yell, because none of it matters anymore. We both made mistakes, and we can't take them back," she said calmly.

I nodded in agreement, she was absolutely right; fighting about it was pointless. I didn't want to be upset anymore, I just wanted my million questions answered.

"Thank you, for the Breanna in her name," I said quietly. "She looks like her."

Bella bit her bottom lip, just as Rapunzel had been doing the entire time I had her, and once again, I realized that it should have cued me in on who she really was. Lip biting was always something Bella did when she was nervous, and now that I was standing with her and calm again, it was all coming back to me like an aftershock.

"That was the first name I thought of when I saw her, but I wasn't sure how you'd react…because of how mad you were when I suggested the name 'Edward'," she explained. I was about to argue the difference with her, but she put up her hand to stop me. "I know the difference, but still, I just didn't know how you'd feel about it. So I didn't name her the entire time we were in the hospital, and then I thought of Carlie and decided on that. But the last day, before I signed the birth certificate, Carlisle came and held her in his arms and said how much she looked like Bree, so I figured it would be perfect for her middle name."

"Well, I do like it. The whole thing…and yeah, I guess I could see how Bree being her first name would be distracting….especially with how much they look alike," I said feeling a sense of calm that I hadn't felt in an extremely long time. But then I thought about what Bella had said her last name was, and I was confused again. "Why is her last name 'Cullen'?"

She sighed again. "It's not," she said unexpectedly. "She was confused when she was little, and didn't understand why she had a different name from everyone else. And then you became well known, and people started asking questions, and over time, the name just became more of a distraction than anything. Legally, her name is still Carlie Breanna Masen, but everyone else knows her as Cullen. I talked to her teachers about it, and they all understood."

"But this is a small town, people here knew me, so what difference does it make?" I asked.

"Carlie and I don't live _here_; we live in Port Angeles. I was going to night school for awhile there, and then I got a job at a bank….We're here all the time though; they needed their sink fixed today and couldn't get off work, but I could, so here I am."

"So, you and her live alone?" I asked.

"Yep. We stayed here for a year until I could support us, and then I found an apartment in Port Angeles, and that's where we've been ever since."

"Wait a minute? Why did you have to work to support yourself? We divorced; half of my inheritance should have been yours. I know Carlisle would have made sure you got it," I told her knowing there was more than enough for her to live on for awhile.

She shook her head, but then tried to busy herself again.

"We are divorced, right?" I asked realizing that if she didn't go through with the adoption, then perhaps she never filed the divorce papers either.

"Of course we're divorced; I wouldn't do that to you. I couldn't find you to tell you about Carlie, but I wasn't going to force you to stay married to me without knowing it. For all I knew, you would have wanted to start a new life somewhere else _with_ someone else."

"Ok…then why don't you have the money?" I asked confused.

"I do, technically. But I'm fully capable of supporting us. I had Carlisle put it all in a trust for Carlie when she's older."

"Bella, that money wasn't just hers," I said frustrated.

"It doesn't matter," she said quietly.

"Yes it does. There was no reason for you to live pay check to pay check and hurt for money, when you had…"

"There is nothing wrong with working for a living," she said quickly, interrupting me.

"I didn't say that there was, but Carlie shouldn't have to want and miss out on things because you can't afford them," I said feeling the anger boiling up again.

"She doesn't 'want' for anything. I save and get her everything she needs, and she gets toys and other stuff for her birthday and Christmas…_which happen to only be a few days apart_. We're fine, and there's nothing wrong with a kid growing up and not being spoiled," she said intensely.

"So…she doesn't get milkshakes every night before bed?" I asked lightly, realizing just how much I had been played by a ten year old.

"What?" she asked confused.

But the milkshake thing did bring up another more important question.

"Bella, I had her for almost four days, how could she have been missing for that long and you never contacted the police?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't want to argue and fight anymore, I just wanted to understand exactly what happened and how Rapunzel wound up on the opposite side of the country with no one looking for her.

Bella looked at me and subtly shook her head. "I really don't know how she ended up there. She was supposed to be at summer camp…I've talked to her every single day; she said she was having a great time fishing and rowing," she said unexpectedly.

"Wait, you've talked to her since she was with me?" I asked surprised because I certainly didn't see her making any phone calls.

"Yes, that's why I'm just…freaking out here. I just can't believe she did this."

"Well, who's that Zafrina person that Rapun…Carlie mentioned?"

"Zafrina is Carlie's friend's older sister. Carlie's friend Claire was going away for summer camp for two weeks in Connecticut, and since Claire's mother and sister both live close to the camp, I agreed to let Carlie go as well. She had been begging for awhile and I thought she was too young, but everyone here said it would be a good experience for her." She shook her head again. "I just should have known better."

"Carlie and Claire, huh?" I said amused by their similar names.

She nodded. "They first became friends because their names were almost the same. Those girls get into more trouble than any other kids in their class."

I almost had to laugh, because I definitely believed that.

"Mommy," Rapunzel said as she popped her head out of the front door, so Bella and I both turned to look at her. "I'm really, really sorry," she said sincerely. "This is all my fault, so don't be mad at him, Ok?"

Bella sighed, and then walked back into the house, stopping to kiss Rapunzel on the forehead, before walking past her.

"Where are you going?" Rapunzel asked worriedly.

"To call Zafrina," I heard Bella say. So I followed her inside, curious as to what that Zafrina person had to say myself. Bella and I still had so much left to discuss, but since Rapunzel was there, I figured it was better to wait until we were alone before continuing.

I sat in the living room quietly, as Bella made her phone call in the kitchen. I knew I could still hear her side of the conversation from that location, but not be as distracting as standing there in front of her would have been.

"Do you care to tell me how my daughter ended up in New York?" I heard Bella said furiously.

"She's really mad, isn't she?" Rapunzel asked me. I didn't even realize that she was sitting with me until right that moment…_some great parent I was going to be. First, I missed her secret phone calls to Bella, and now I didn't even notice her sitting a few feet away. Damn!_

"Yeah, I think so," I told her. "So, how did you manage to pull all this off anyway? I didn't even realize that my address wasn't listed anywhere until your mom mentioned it, so how did you find me?" I asked her, wondering how a ten year old could possibly plan the whole thing.

"I don't care Zafrina, you had no right to do that!" Bella's voice carried from the kitchen.

"Zafrina is Claire's older sister," Rapunzel began to explain. "And she's really good with computers and stuff. Claire said she's a hacker, but I can't tell anyone that because it's illegal. Anyway, she broke into the computers of all the most expensive apartments in New York, because she said you would only live in the best because you're rich, and after trying a few different buildings, she finally found you."

"Uh…ok," I said not knowing how else to respond to that. It was definitely illegal, and whoever that Zafrina person was, really needed a fucking tongue lashing.

"You can't just break into private computer systems; I should really call the police!" Bella shouted. "You even gave me a fake number to call her at. What the hell is wrong with you?"

I was really surprised by Bella's aggressiveness over the phone, I just never took her as the type; then again, she never really cared about what people thought about her and always stood up for what she believed in. So, I suppose her forwardness was right on target.

"How old is Zafrina, anyway?" I asked Rapunzel.

"Oh, she's really old, she's like nineteen or something," she said seriously.

I laughed. "Yeah, that is old."

I knew I should have been angrier at Rapunzel for what she did, but it was really hard to find the anger inside of me. She was mine, there wasn't a doubt, and Vicky had nothing to do with it. I actually felt like grabbing a hold of her and squeezing her tightly and never let go. Nothing else mattered; she was my daughter and I was her father, and I wasn't going to let anything or anyone get in the way of that ever again.

As if she could read my mind, she asked "are you mad at me?"

I smiled. "I should be…but I'm really happy that I got to meet you, and how it happened doesn't really matter."

She smiled widely at me, so I jerked my head as a sign for her to come sit with me. She smiled again, and jumped right into my lap without pausing. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her hair, savoring every moment and just drinking her in so I'd never forget an inch of her.

I had already fallen in love with her before knowing who she really was, but the fact that I already knew her from when she was inside Bella, already felt her move, and already loved her, just added to it. It was extremely strong, and yes scared me a little, but I would not run from it, not from her, not anymore. I was done running away, I just needed to find a way to prove that fact to Bella.

"So tell me, how did you get into my building anyway?" I asked her curiously. It was all trivial at that point, but I just loved how methodically she planned the entire thing, and I wanted to know everything.

"The door man wouldn't let me in, so I just waited until he was distracted and then snuck in," she said smugly.

"You drove her to New York?" Bella yelled.

I looked at Rapunzel with a raised brow, and she shrugged sheepishly. "Zafrina really wanted to help me."

"Why? What did this girl have to gain from all this?" I asked.

"She likes the challenge of computer hacking….and I said that if she helped me, I'd get her front row tickets to your concert."

"Oh, really," I said in comic disbelief, before tickling her.

She laughed of course, but I quickly stopped because I didn't want to get off topic. Above all the 'how's, I just really wanted to know the 'whys'. Why now after so long, what was the reason why she chose to scam everyone and come find me? And why did she feel the need to lie so much?

"So, Ru-nez-may," I said teasingly. "I sort of get how you did it all, _sort of_, but why? Why did you come find me now, and why didn't you just tell me the truth right away?" I asked her gently.

"Hey, you remembered my name," she said with a huge grin.

"Yeah, well, we both know that's not your name, don't we," I said suggestively, beckoning her to explain.

"Well, not exactly, but it should have been. Mom is so weird for naming me Carlie, I mean, that's so boring. I would have loved a long unique pretty name like Renesmee."

"I've never heard that before?" I said honestly.

"No, because I made it up. You see my name is Carlie, because mom was crazy and thought I was going to be a boy, so she decided to name me boy names anyway. _Car_ from _Car_lisle and _lie_ from Char_lie_. But I think that's stupid. I'm a girl, so I should have been named after my grandmothers. Renee and Esme. See Renee Esme – Renesmee."

_Holy fuck!_ That just made me feel even stupider than I already did. What the hell was wrong with me? I really should have picked up on that from the beginning.

"I see," I said slightly bitter, though the resentment was only directed inwards at myself. I was actually quite impressed by her thought process of it all.

"Ok, so what made you decide to come find me now?" I asked her. "And why lie and say you're an orphan?"

She started playing with a lock of her hair again then, and wouldn't look at me. "Because, I did something really, really bad," she said distractedly.

"What did you do?" I asked concerned.

"Mom was really sad for a long time…and she never dated anyone…so I tried to set her up."

"Ok…what does that mean?" I asked reluctantly. I really didn't think I liked where this was headed.

"Well, Claire's dad Jacob is single, and he always said how pretty my mom was, so we thought it would be great if we could be sisters. So we tried to get them together for the longest time, and after making them meet 'accidentally', she finally agreed to go out with him. They were only together for a few months, and then he proposed and she said _yes_," she told me unexpectedly.

"Uh…" ok, now I really knew I didn't like where it was going.

"Claire and I were so happy, but when all four of us went out one day, I noticed that my mom seemed even sadder than she did before. And then last month, I overheard Emmett and Alice talking about how obvious it was that my mom wasn't happy, and they said it was because she still loved my dad. So…" she shrugged.

"So?" I urged her to continue.

"So, I knew I had to find you. I wanted my mom to marry Claire's dad, but not if she really loved you. I just want her to be happy."

"And why did you lie so much then?" I asked.

"Because I also heard Emmett and Alice saying how you left because you thought I was going to be adopted."

I was absolutely stunned by everything she was saying. I didn't have any right to be upset that Bella had moved on with someone else, but I was. And I was even more upset that Emmett and Alice could have been so irresponsible to talk about that shit when they knew Carlie was around.

"And how did that make you feel?" I asked, suddenly sounding like a fucking shrink. Even I was annoyed by my question.

She shrugged. "It's ok, I guess. I'm glad mom kept me, but…I was sad because you didn't know I was still here. I thought that if you knew the truth, then you would come back and make mom happy again. But when Zafrina found you, I thought it would be better that you thought I was from an orphanage in the beginning, so that you wouldn't think mom lied to you. But even more than that, I wanted to get to know you first, and if you knew the truth, you would have just brought me back home right away…right?" she asked, suddenly unsure of herself.

"Yeah, I guess I would have," I admitted quietly. "Did you ever talk to your mom about what you heard Emmett and Alice say?"

She shook her head. "It only happened two weeks ago, and then I started making plans with Zafrina."

"So…Zafrina is Claire's sister? And Claire's dad is engaged to your mom…so why would Zafrina help you try to get _me _to come back here to be with your mom?" I asked confused.

"No. Zafrina is Claire's older _half_ sister. They have the same mom, and both Zafrina and her mom hate Claire's dad. So, she thought it was cool. Claire wasn't too happy about it, but she usually does whatever I tell her to."

_Uhh….God, she was just like I was…fuck!_

"Rapunzel, you shouldn't be so bossy when it comes to your friends," I told her, completely calling the kettle black.

"Why, when she listens?" she asked confused.

I smiled and shook my head incredulously. We had time to work on that one; I wasn't planning on going anywhere, at least not permanently.

"So…are you going to go back to New York now?" she asked sadly.

"Well, I will have to eventually. That's where my work is, and I have a place there; but I swear, you can't get rid of me. I'll always be here for you whenever you need me."

She nodded, and then curled up into me even more than she already was.

We were quiet for a little while, and I just held her in my arms in the most amazing feeling I could imagine. But since we were being quiet, I could hear that Bella seemed to be having a different conversation at that point. The handyman must have gotten there without me even noticing.

Damn! Why the hell was I so unperceptive lately?

Sure enough, Bella walked past us with a handyman trailing behind her. She showed him out, and then turned back towards me uncomfortably.

"Sink's fixed," she said quietly. I nodded absently.

"She already has you wrapped around her finger," Bella said unexpectedly with a smirk.

I looked down and noticed that Carlie had fallen asleep on me, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, it's hard to resist falling in love with her…she's just like her mother in that sense," I said without thinking it through all the way. I meant it to sound light and in a joking tone, but because it was one hundred percent true, it was hard to make it sound like anything but serious honesty.

I had spent ten years not really living, and even though deep down I knew it was because I still loved her, it wasn't until that moment that I knew for a fact that my love never weakened, and never would. Despite our fighting and the hurt we caused each other, I loved her as much as I ever did, and I wanted her back.

It was just about eleven years ago that a simple conversation with a pastor changed my life. He made me unjustifiably angry, and as a result, the cruel broken teen that I was, made a fateful decision… 'Operation, ruin Bella Swan'. It had been a turbulent rollercoaster since then, but now I had a new objective, and it was one that I refused to fail at.

Operation, get Bella back…_and never let her go again_.

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><p><strong>***Ok, before you get your panties in a bunch over the Jacob thing, let me just tell you right now that he will hardly be in the story. Bella doesn't love him, doesn't even have a normal relationship with him <strong>(no sex, hardly ever even gives little peck kisses, they basically only hold hands)**, and she will NOT choose him or flaunt him in front of Edward. Bella will NOT use Jacob as a tool to make Edward jealous, but we all know he will be anyway, right? Lol**

**Trust me, I don't like Bella and Jake together at all either, I think its gross, and I promise he'll be gone quickly. **Give her a little break on that topic, she did spend a decade alone…how sad is that? **And as a good girl who learned her lesson the first time, Bella is saving it for marriage…at least when it comes to Jake ;) **

**I also know that Edward was a little quick to want Bella back, but the truth is that he never stopped loving her and now that he learned she's engaged, he doesn't exactly have time to sit back and let the chips fall…**_**see, I'm just trying to move this story along faster **_

**You still have questions **(Vicky, the Cullens, Edward's dreams),** and I have answers. All coming soon!**

**Please Review!**


	20. Hiccups

**Unintended**

~Chapter 20 – _Hiccups_~

"So, you work at a bank?" I asked Bella after she sat in the chair across from me. Rapunzel was still sleeping on my lap, so I kept my voice quiet and calm, but Bella still seemed strangely uncomfortable talking about herself.

"Uh, yeah. It's not a glamorous job or anything, but it pays the bills," she said.

I narrowed my eyes at her comment. I hated that she was working a job that she hated, when she very well could have been using the money that was rightfully hers. But I didn't want to argue anymore, so I didn't bring it back up again.

"And…you have friends, _and such_," I said suggestively. I really didn't want to know about her fiancé, but I needed to hear her speak of him so I could try to judge her feelings about the situation. If I thought Rapunzel was wrong and Bella really did love the guy, then I wouldn't try to get between them….but of course, that's just what I was telling myself, because deep down I knew I'd still try regardless.

What Bella and I had was built on a cracked foundation, as my therapist once said, and he was right because it did end up falling…but the materials were all still there, all we needed to do was rebuild something stronger and more permanent.

Bella nodded uncomfortably confused. "Yeah, I have friends."

I nodded back. "_Good_ friends?"

She pressed her lips together. "Yes, good friends."

I was actually getting a little frustrated with her about the topic. Was she purposely being vague, or did she really not know what I was asking her?

"You know, things are going to have to change," I said slightly pompously. "I'm here now, and we're going to have spend time together…the three of us. I won't disappear from her life again."

"Good," was all she said.

"Good," I responded.

We sat there for a few more awkward but amazingly surreal moments of silence, and then my phone started buzzing. I tried to ignore it, but it just wouldn't stop; so careful not wake Rapunzel, I fished my phone from my pocket.

"Ugh," I said to myself after looking at the number.

"Is everything ok?" Bella asked concerned, and then I had an idea.

"Yeah," I said extra quietly. "Hey, can you answer this for me, and just tell them that everything's fine?" I asked while throwing the phone to her. "I just don't want to wake Carlie," I added.

"Um…ok," she said reluctantly, and then pressed the send button before bringing it up to her ear. "Hello?...This is Bella, who's this?" she asked into the phone. "Bella _Swan_," she said, and then suddenly her confusion broke and was replaced by a huge smile. "Hi Garrett, how are you?...Who is Rapunzel?...Oh, right, yes of course she's mine…don't worry, I'm not going to have him arrested for kidnapping," she said with a giggle. "It's good to hear from you too. Ok, bye," she told him, and then handed me back the phone.

I automatically pressed the end button, and tossed it on the couch beside me.

"No! He was still on the phone, he wanted to talk to you," she said quickly.

I shrugged. "I know. It's fine, I'll call him back later," I said carelessly.

"He sounds the same," Bella mused.

"Yeah, well he's really just a pain in my ass," I said jokingly serious. "The guy thinks he's my mother…I swear, if he had tits, he'd try to nurse me."

Bella just stared at me, and then broke out and started laughing. She tried to do it quietly, but she was failing miserably, and I couldn't help but laugh with her.

"What's so funny?" Rapunzel asked groggily as she lifted her head from my shoulder.

"Nothing baby, I'm sorry we woke you," Bella said while trying to control herself.

Rapunzel sat up and turned her head so I could see her face but Bella couldn't, and then she winked at me. I knew immediately what the wink was for. She wanted me to make Bella happy, and I was already making her laugh, so she was quite pleased with my quick work; so of course, I winked back. As much as I wanted to give Rapunzel anything and everything she wanted, including me being with Bella, I wanted it for myself even more, and I would stop at nothing until I had her back.

However, I felt a twinge of guilt over the entire thing; after all, I was back to plotting to gain her affections…_again_. But I refused to let my conscience talk me out of it, I knew what I wanted, _what I needed_, and I was going to make it happen. At least this time, it was based on something real and genuine feelings of love for her.

"Are you going to come to our apartment?" Rapunzel asked out of the blue.

"Uh…" Bella said, suddenly becoming very uneasy. It was as if she never expected me to step foot into their place, and the very thought of it made her uncomfortable.

So, of course, I said - "yeah, I'd love to see where you live."

"Really?" Rapunzel asked excitedly.

"Definitely," I said with a smile. "I mean, if it's ok with your mom."

It was clear that Bella really didn't want me going there, but I wasn't about to let her get away with that. Whatever her reason for it, I needed to prove to her that she was wrong.

Rapunzel and I stared at Bella, and waited for her answer.

"Um, sure…I mean, yeah, you should definitely come over and see her room and stuff…and then we can get you set up in a hotel close by for as long as you're here in Washington," she said in a rush.

Once she said that, I understood; she just didn't want me _sleeping_ there.

"Yeah, ok. I'll rent a room in Port Angeles close by, and everything will be cool," I said agreeably, though I had no idea how long I'd be able to go along with that.

"Can we go now?" Rapunzel asked impatiently.

"Uh…" Bella said while looking at her watch. "I think it's almost time for…" but she didn't have the chance to finish her sentence, because we then heard a car pull up outside.

Fuck.

Since I just finally learned the truth about Bella and Carlie, I figured that was the cause of all the dreams I had been having. It was as if seeing Carlisle and Bree in my sleep was my subconscious liaison to them, a way to get me to come back to my daughter and her mother; but now I realized that I would still have to deal with the Cullens as well…and I was seriously dreading it.

I watched the door with Rapunzel still on my lap, and slowly it opened.

"Hey, whose car is that in the drivew…" Esme said as she walked in. But when she saw me sitting there, she dropped her keys and stared at me blankly.

Not knowing what else to do, I gently scooted Rapunzel off my lap, and stood.

Like the flip of a switch, Esme's blank stare broke and she immediately started crying. She didn't wait for me to say anything, she just closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me securely as she bawled….and I felt like shit.

My mother was a loving woman in her own way, but she definitely believed in tough love and was in no way affectionate. So when I went to live with the Cullens, Esme tried hard to fill the void my mother left, but what she didn't understand was that she was doing the opposite. I often felt smothered by her, and she had to constantly remind herself to not be so forward with me….but in that moment, I didn't feel smothered. After ten years of being alone and feeling nothing, at that moment, I felt like a little kid coming back to his mom after his first night away from home. It felt good, and I refused to be the one to pull away first.

"I can't believe you're actually here," she said as her tears began to wet through my shirt.

And, when she finally pulled away, she cupped my face in her hands and looked lovingly at me for a moment, before letting go and then pinching my sides.

"God, look how thin you are," she said in almost a scolding way.

"I'm fine," I said with a smile.

"Well, what are you doing here, what made you finally come home?" she asked while trying to unsuccessfully dry her eyes.

We all went back to sit, Rapunzel returned to my lap, and Esme watched lovingly as Rapunzel played with the hem of my shirt while I told her how I got wonderfully conned into returning. Of course, then Carlisle showed up.

His face was little harder to read when he saw me, but then he smirked and placed his hand on my shoulder and said - "Welcome home, son."

And it did feel like coming home; I was undeservedly greeted happily by all of them, and it was awesome, but made me realize just how much I had missed due to my own weak irrational stupidity.

Alice and Emmett were away, busy in their own lives, but I talked to them on the phone and they both planned on coming there the next day for a more personal greeting…and I actually couldn't wait. Esme was already planning what she was going to make for dinner for her 'entire family', as she said.

Esme and Carlisle wanted to know everything about my life, so I told them, and all the while, Bella just listened quietly. She didn't say much the entire evening, and I wished more than ever to know her thoughts. Esme and Carlisle told me a little about what had been going on with them as well, but most of the time, Rapunzel was the one who was talking. She made the reunion effortless; there was no time for awkward silences, because she wouldn't allow for them, and I was grateful. I was fairly certain that I wouldn't have made it through that meeting without her.

But it got late, and Rapunzel had an extremely long day, so Bella decided it was time for them to leave.

"You know, she'll probably be too tired to show you around her room and stuff tonight, so maybe we can just plan on it tomorrow," Bella suggested quietly.

Shit.

I really didn't want to separated from them, but it seemed that I didn't really have a choice.

"Yeah, ok. I'll just rent a room tonight," I said, trying to disguise my disappointment. "Just call me as soon as you guys are up and around in the morning….like as soon as you wake up. Maybe we can go get breakfast or something."

Bella bit her lower lip, and then nodded. "Yeah, ok. I'll call you."

I hugged Rapunzel, and held her tightly in my arms, not wanting to ever let her go and hating that I had to. I kissed her head, and for the first time ever, I told her -"I love you."

She didn't smile widely like I was expecting, she just looked at me straight faced and said, "I love you too daddy."

She hugged me one more time, Bella said "goodnight" quietly, and then they left. I stared in the direction of their car long after it was out of sight, and my stomach just turned in knots knowing it would be several agonizingly long hours before I got to see them again.

"Come on in, I have your room all set up," Esme said after a minute.

"Oh, well I was just going to go get a hotel," I said, not wanting to put her out. Then again it was Esme, so if I didn't stay, she would take it as an insult. "Or…maybe I could just stay here tonight," I said quickly after seeing the look of sadness on her face.

She smiled then, so I followed her inside.

She led me up to my old room, except when I went inside, I was absolutely flabbergasted at what I saw there….Lots and lots of _pink_. Uh…

"When Bella and Carlie were staying here, Carlie just loved pink, so we changed the room for her," Esme explained quickly.

I shook my head incredulously, and Esme's face fell from thinking that I was upset, but the truth was that I was the exact opposite. They stepped up for my family, when they sure as hell didn't have to. I was gone, they could have dismissed Bella and our daughter, but they didn't. I gave them nothing but grief when I lived with them, but they still loved my daughter and her mother like no other.

I was beyond grateful to them.

"Thank you, Esme," I said sincerely.

She smiled, and hugged me again before saying goodnight. When she left however, Carlisle was there waiting for his turn to speak to me alone.

"I'm really glad you're here," he said seriously.

"Yeah, me too. Listen Carlisle, I'm really sorry for taking off the way that I did back then. I've done a lot of fucked up things, but that was the worst by far," I told him.

"Well, there's nothing to be done about it anymore. But I can see that you've really grown up since then…so I'm very proud of you. I don't have a doubt that you are finally the man that your child needs you to be," he said intensely.

I shook my head. "I have a long way to go in order to ever be worthy of them, but I'm going to fight like hell to get there."

"And you will," he said assuredly.

He left me alone then, but I wasn't ready to sleep. So basically I spent the next hour or so going through absolutely everything in that room. Rapunzel still had a lot of her things there, apparently she spent the night often, and I was absolutely loving all of it.

After I was convinced that I had seen everything there was to see, I decided to try to get to bed. I wanted to meet them first thing in the morning and oversleeping wasn't an option. But of course, I laid there wide awake.

It was odd being so far from Rapunzel. I only had her for a few days, but in that time I became extremely protective of her, and even though I was fairly certain she was lying about people hurting her, it still made me anxious. I hated that I couldn't just go peek in on her while she slept, and I wondered how the hell I was going to ever go back to New York for any amount of time. If I was having that hard of a time being a few miles away, how could I be on the other side of the country?

Then there was a light knock on the door. I figured it was Esme checking on me one last time, as if I was some kid sleeping in a new place, and I wasn't sure if I should be annoyed, or smile by her over mothering. I turned on the side table lamp, and then walked to the door to open it, but it wasn't Esme….

"Daddy!" Rapunzel shouted excitedly, and wrapped her arms around my waist in a huge bear hug.

"Hey," I said with one of the biggest smiles I had ever felt on my face before.

"Can we have a sleepover?" she asked me eagerly.

"Heck yeah!" I said as I moved aside and let her run into the room.

I looked up and saw Bella standing there holding Rapunzel's stuffed lion and backpack.

"We got home, and she couldn't sleep," Bella explained quietly.

I nodded in understanding. "Thanks…for bringing her back," I replied softly.

She smiled halfheartedly, and handed me the lion. "That's really….sweet, that you kept the elf costume all this time…I wondered what happened to it," she said before handing me Rapunzel's backpack.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

"Daddy, come on!" Rapunzel called to me.

"Goodnight Carlie," Bella said to her.

"Goodnight mom," she said back happily.

"She hasn't even known you for a week yet, and I'm already only second best," Bella said playfully while shaking her head in faux offense. "I don't even get hugs anymore."

"Sorry momma," Rapunzel said with a smile before running across the room to hug and kiss Bella goodnight. "Love you."

"I love you too, see you in the morning," Bella told her, and then Rapunzel ran back to the bed.

"Goodnight," Bella said to me also, before turning to leave.

"Wait, you're not going all the way back to Port Angeles right now, are you?" I asked her worriedly.

She bit her lip and shook her head. "Esme made up Alice's room for me," she said.

"Ok, see you," I said awkwardly.

Bella nodded, and then walked down the hall and disappeared. _God, I really wanted to hold her. _

Rapunzel and I snuggled in the bed together, and she asked me to tell her a story, but I guess mine wasn't good enough, because she took it over and was the one to finish it. Eventually, her talking slowed and she fell asleep, so like I used to do with her mother, I just watched her for awhile. Every breath her little nose made was completely mesmerizing to me…and then she started snoring.

It wasn't a loud annoying snore, it was just a low rolling purr, just like Bella had. I couldn't help but smile at her, and because the noise was actually a comfort to me, I quickly fell asleep as well.

The next thing I knew, I woke up to the motion of the bed bouncing under me, and it took a moment for me to remember where I was. I looked up and Rapunzel was on her knees hopping around on the bed.

"Morning daddy," she said without stopping her bouncing.

"Morning," I said, then grabbed a hold of her and started tickling. She laughed so hard that I was worried she was going to throw up, but then the hiccups came.

She sat in front of me and just smiled as she tried to control her hiccups. "I hate * these, I get them all the * time," she said brokenly as she kept hiccupping.

"Do you want me to get you a drink?" I asked her.

She shook her head no. "That doesn't * help."

"Ok, let's go down to the kitchen to get some sugar," I told her with a smile.

"Sugar?" she asked surprised.

"Yeah, and if that doesn't work, we'll try spinning in circles, drinking upside down, and getting scared."

"Really?" she asked with a giggle as we walked downstairs.

But when we got to the kitchen however, we didn't have time to try all the different hiccup cures, because I was immediately attacked.

"EEEEE!" Alice shrilled when she saw me. She ran and threw herself right into my arms, and continued to shriek. "I'm so happy you're home!"

"Thanks Alice, I'm happy to be here," I told her.

Emmett was there too, so he waited until Alice was done with me before coming to give me a hug.

"It's good to see you, bro," he said with a smile.

"Yeah, you too….where's Rose? You guys must have a few kids by now, huh?" I speculated.

"Oh, she couldn't get out of work, but she'll be here later. And no, we don't have any kids. We've tried, but I guess it's not in the cards for us….But that's ok, it just means we get to spoil this one even more," he said while tickling Rapunzel.

"Oh, sorry to hear that," I told him, not knowing what else to say.

"It's cool, we've accepted it. Who knows, maybe we'll adopt," Em said.

"Hey, your hiccups are gone," I said to Rapunzel.

"Oh yeah, cool!" she said happily.

Bella came down the stairs then, and Esme and Carlisle came out looking as though they had both been up for hours. We all sat there and talked around the table, and laughed about Alice's wild stories, and even though it felt good to be there, it also made me realize that I didn't just walk away from Bella all those years ago; all the Cullens were upset that I had left….Maybe I should buy them all cars.

"Can we go see my room now?" Rapunzel asked after awhile.

Alice and Emmet both had to leave, but they were planning on returning later in the day, so Bella and I figured it was a good time to go.

"Sure, let's go," I told her excitedly.

When we got there though, I couldn't help the feelings of resentment towards Bella again. The place was tiny; my closet was bigger than their living room. I just didn't understand why she had to be so stubborn; the money was hers, and my kid shouldn't have to live in that condition just because of Bella's stupid pride.

Rapunzel grabbed my hand, and pulled my down the narrow hall to where her nook of a room was. But despite the limited space, she actually had a lot of decent things, and she didn't seem to be bothered by the size whatsoever.

She showed me her soccer trophies and gymnastic ribbons, and made me try on her feather boa. I loved seeing it all, but the fact that I had missed seeing her earn all of them, just ripped my chest up into shreds. I couldn't miss anything else, and I wouldn't.

"Mom, can I call Claire?" Rapunzel asked after showing me everything she wanted me to see.

"I don't think so," Bella said with a humorless laugh. "You're grounded."

"But mom, I just want to tell her that I'm alive. I bet she's worried sick and she may even call the police if she thinks I died," Rapunzel said dramatically.

"Well, I'm sure Zafrina will tell her you're safe," Bella said quickly.

"Mom, please? Just five minutes and then I'll be totally grounded," Rapunzel begged.

Bella sighed. "I'm timing you," she said while looking at the clock on the wall.

"Ok, thanks!" she said before grabbing the phone and running back to her room.

I smirked at Bella's caving, and she responded by scowling and shaking her head. "I'm such a horrible mother," she mumbled bitterly.

"No you're not," I said quickly, taking personal offense from her comment. "You're great with her….I think she would cause 'Super Nanny' to quit on the spot," I said lightly, trying to make her feel better.

"Yeah, she's definitely a crafty one," Bella agreed.

"That's for sure," I said with a laugh.

"So…I was thinking about everything last night, and I realized why you didn't know she was mine when you had her in New York," she said unexpectedly.

"Ok," I said, immediately feeling extremely uneasy.

"You thought she was Vicky's," she said with a smirk.

"No," I said quickly, but Bella raised an eyebrow, seeing right through me as she always had. "Well…maybe. I really didn't know what to think," I said honestly.

"Vicky didn't have _your_ baby," she said abruptly.

"I know. Of course she didn't," I said positively. "How do you know?" I asked, letting my faux confidence break a little.

"Like you said, she was just after a payday. I had a long talk with James about the entire thing a few years ago," she said taking me by surprise.

"What? You actually talked to that prick?" I asked incredulously.

"His son goes to school with Carlie," Bella told me.

"_His_ son….as in, his and Vicky's kid _together_?" I asked assuming that the kid she was talking about was the one Vicky had claimed was mine.

Bella nodded. "Vicky tried to get you to…_father _her baby, but she was pretty stupid and slept with a few other people along the way. When she did get pregnant, she told James that it was his, and neither of them had any money for prenatal care and had no way to take care of it, so she concocted the plan to pass it off as yours. He didn't want to help her, but he did it for the baby…or so he said."

"And, he just offered you all this information?" I asked in irritated disbelief. I way beyond relieved to finally know everything about the event that destroyed my life, but the anger I felt from their anticlimactic motive, was overwhelming. My life came crumbling down for nothing, and it just made me feel the loss more than ever.

"James isn't so bad," Bella said out of nowhere, completely infuriating me.

"Not so bad? He ruined my fucking life," I whispered-yelled, so Rapunzel couldn't hear me.

"Yeah, I know, and he hates himself for it, but that's not what I'm talking about. The baby came out with dark skin…and there was no way it could be his biologically. But he's raising him, _alone_. Vicky took off not long after he was born, and never looked back. I know how it feels to be abandoned, so him stepping up when he didn't have to was really amazing."

"I never meant to abandon you," I said strongly. "Bella, I can't tell you enough how sorry I am, but I will continue to do so until the day I die."

She bit her bottom lip, and nodded. "I know Edward, and I wasn't comparing you to Vicky. You wouldn't have left if I didn't push you away, and I understand that….but I wasn't talking about you just now. I was talking about _my _mother."

"Oh," I said in understanding.

"Edward, I really am sorry that I doubted you about all that. I knew when I saw the pictures that they were fake, but I was just scared."

"How did you know they were fake?" I asked curiously.

"Because your shirt was off in them," she said, completely taking me aback. "I knew you wouldn't do that on your own….but then I started second guessing myself and I wondered if maybe you were just too wasted to know what you were doing, or maybe she took it off of you afterwards. Just the fact that you had disappeared for those two days in the first place…I just lost faith, and it scared me."

"No one hates that I was gone those days, more than I was….and I'm so sorry. I know your doubts were my fault, everything that I had done to you was based on lies, and I'll always regret that time."

She smiled heavily, and then nodded. "I'm just glad that you're here now… and I know that you'll always be here for her."

"And you," I said, but that just made her turn her back to me. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she said before taking a deep breath and turning back to me with a fake smile. "This is good. It's nice we can be adults about this."

"Yeah… I'm not going to go back down that road of explosive self destruction," I assured her. "I almost took both of us out before, and I won't do that to Rap.._Carlie_."

"I know you won't…it's obvious how much you love her already."

"Always have. Just like I have always loved…" I was about to say 'you too', but she cut me off.

"Edward, I'm engaged. Jacob is a really good person, and he's everything I always thought I'd end up with in a man. He's stable, and hard working, and reliable, and honest, and I'm lucky to have found him," she said emotionlessly.

I pressed my lips together, and nodded in annoyance. I didn't even know the guy, but just her description of him was irritating. No one was that fucking perfect. "Yeah, Carlie told me," I said.

"Oh…yeah, she's happy because…"

"Yeah, he's Claire's dad. She said that too," I told her coldly. I didn't know why I was bothered so much by it, I already knew everything she had said and prepared myself for it. Hell, I even tried to get her to tell me the day before because I wanted to judge how she felt, but the fact that she decided to tell me in that moment, just rubbed me the wrong way.

We stood there awkwardly for a few long minutes, and then Rapunzel came skipping back into the room and thankfully lightened the mood.

"Can we go to the beach today?" she asked us.

"Carlie, you're supposed to be grounded," Bella said quickly.

My phone started buzzing again, and I had been trying to ignore it all morning, but it was driving me insane, so I decided to take a minute to step outside to answer it.

"Hey Garrett, what's up?" I said.

"Hey…how's it going?" he asked me hesitantly.

"Just wonderful," I said bitterly. I really didn't mean to use that tone, because the truth was that it was going wonderfully. I was relieved to know for sure that Vicky was a fucking liar, I was spending time with my amazing daughter, and there wasn't anything better than that; but Bella's admission had just entirely soured my mood and it was hard to conceal it at that moment.

"Look man, I know you're there with Bella and your daughter after ten years, but if you don't come back here now, Aro's threatening to sue."

"What? Why? What the fuck is he pissed at?" I asked angrily.

"He said you made a breach of contract by skipping out on our promotional stuff we were supposed to be doing these past couple of days."

Fuck.

"We have a big TV spot tomorrow, and he says if you don't show, that's it. Man, he can take us to the cleaners."

"Yeah, I know," I said knowing I really didn't have a choice…but then I thought of a plan. "Ok, I'll be there," I told him, suddenly feeling in a much better mood.

"You sure?" he asked skeptically.

"Yep, positive," I said, then hung up the phone.

Actually, the entire thing was perfect and I couldn't wait to finally leave. I went inside, and did my best to look upset again.

"What's wrong daddy?" Rapunzel asked me.

"I have to go back to New York this afternoon," I said sadly.

"Oh no. Already?" she said upset, but I winked at her, so she smiled a tiny bit, but kept the upset charade going.

"Do you know when you'll be able to come back?" Bella asked concerned.

"I have all this promo stuff I need to do. The worst part is that it won't even take very long every day, so I'm basically going to have nothing to do most of the time, but I still have to be there."

I winked suggestively at Rapunzel again, so she turned up the sorrow.

"We just found each other, and I don't want to be away from you yet," she said dramatically.

"But I have to go, it's in my contract," I said while looking at Bella, and hoping she'd get the hint. I figured that since she was willing to drive Rapunzel all the way back to the Cullen's place the night before to be with me, then perhaps she'd understand what I wanted her to do….and she did….sort of.

"Oh no," she said quickly. "There is no way she's going back to New York with you right now."

"But mom, it's summer and I don't have school," Rapunzel protested.

"Carlie, no. Who would watch you when he's working, anyway?" Bella asked.

"Well….maybe you could come with us," I suggested hopefully.

"I can't go to New York. I have a job, and…"

"And I'm sure you have plenty vacation time," I interrupted her.

"Well….I….I…can't because I have…other things," she said pathetically.

Rapunzel and I just stared at her challengingly, so she rolled her eyes and huffed. "This is ridiculous," she said under her breath.

"Bella, I just really don't want to be away from her right now. I've missed so much time already, you don't want me to miss anymore than necessary, do you? I would just blow this off if I could, but I'm contractually obligated. Please come?"

I knew the guilt trip was a low blow, but I was willing to play dirty to get what I was after. I wanted Rapunzel with me more than anything, but I also wanted to get Bella out there, and away from her fiancé. I just needed some time to prove to her that we could still be happy together, that we belonged together as a family. I needed time to woo her, and I couldn't think of a better place to do it than in New York.

"I'm really going to regret this, I can already tell," Bella said sullenly.

But Rapunzel didn't let her mother's sour mood dampen the moment. We both smiled, and she actually cheered. "We're going back to New York!"

* * *

><p><strong>****Oh, Edward…LOL!<strong>

**Please Review**


	21. Meteor

**Unintended**

~Chapter 21 –_Meteor_~

"So, what did Mr. Perfect say?" I asked Bella after she came back inside from calling her fiancé.

"He said to have a good time," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah right. He was just fine with you flying to the opposite side of the country with you ex husband?" I asked incredulous.

"Of course. He trusts me…he has no reason not to," she said casually while grabbing her bag.

_We'll see about that_ – I thought to myself.

I called the Cullens to say goodbye, while Bella helped Rapunzel pack some stuff for the trip. We never discussed how long they would be there with me for, and I wasn't going to offer it up either. I wanted it to be open ended, because my goal was to not bring Bella back until she agreed to end her relationship with her stable reliably boring fiancé.

When we got to the airport, I decided to already crank up the charm, so I opted to fly private…which was something I rarely ever did. I just never understood it before. People rarely recognized me when in public, so flying first class was easy enough, and private was hell of expensive.

"Uh…do you always fly like this?" Bella asked as she looked around the plane.

"Of course," I lied.

"Seems like a waste," Bella said casually.

Fuck.

She didn't say it in an arrogant way, but I still should have expected it. Bella wasn't easily impressed with that type of thing.

Rapunzel, on the other hand, was over the moon excited to be on the lavish jet.

"Dad, can we fly like this all the time?" Rapunzel asked me.

"Uh…maybe not all the time," I said with a guilty smile, to a very annoyed looking Bella.

Rapunzel spent a few hours in the cockpit with the pilots, Bella buried her nose in a book, and I studied her features as she read. I let my mind wander to the 'what if', and I tried to imagine the way our lives would have been if I stayed. Perhaps we would be miserable or divorced anyway, simply because I didn't have control over myself back then, but perhaps we would have been happy.

Maybe we would have had a couple more kids. I probably would have been something lame like a mechanic or a handyman, but we would have had a nice house bought and paid for by my inheritance. Maybe our lives would be simple, monotonous, and just plain boring….but we would have been happy. We could still get there, we could still be happy, and we would; it was only a matter of time.

"So…remember when you were trying to teach me poetry?" I asked Bella.

She looked up from her book, and narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously. Did she really know what I was trying to do?

"Of course, I remember," she said reluctantly.

"I had a really difficult time with it," I reminded her.

"Yeah," she said confused as to why I was bringing it up.

"Well…I write all my songs now," I said a little arrogantly.

"Seriously?" she seemed surprised.

"Yeah….it's just easier to sing when the words mean something, you know what I mean?" I asked her.

"I guess I can see that," she mused.

"Yeah, before I could find a connection with the music, I was really an awful singer….like dying cats bad," I told her.

In all honesty, I was bragging a little; I wanted to impress her and make her understand that everything I had ever written was about her, in some way shape or form.

But instead of being impressed, she started giggling.

"What?" I asked, slightly offended.

"Oh…I'm sorry, I thought you were joking," she said feeling bad for laughing.

"Why would I joke about that? I'm serious; I was really bad until I started putting my own experiences into the lyrics."

"That's not true; you used to be an amazing singer," she said surprisingly.

"Huh?" I asked confused.

"Edward, you don't remember being in the church choir when we were eleven?" she asked seriously.

I thought about it for a moment, and then I shook my head. "No," I said honestly.

"You were the top soloist. I used to stand in the back row, and I was always in such awe of you…we all were. Trust me, those who knew you back then were not surprised by what you became."

"I don't remember that at all," I told her absently. "No, that can't be true. I was horrible when I first tried with the band."

Bella bit her lip. "Maybe you weren't really trying. I think after…you lost your family, you closed yourself off from everyone, even yourself; maybe you couldn't find your voice anymore."

It was true that I had tried so hard to not think about my sister and mother, that I forgot most of what my life was like before the night they died. Even with Bella telling me that now, I still couldn't bring up the memory.

My life was separated into chapters; the first was until I was thirteen when my family was murdered, which had been reduced to nothing but a few images and lingering nightmares. The second was full of anger and resentment, which lasted until Bella burst into my sky like a meteor. She was blinding in the darkness of my life then, and gone just as quickly. Then was a decade of nothingness; I played the part and did as I was told, but the memory of Bella's blazing light made it impossible to see the flickering flames that surrounded me. And now the new chapter was beginning. The last chapter, the only one that ever really mattered. I was going to get my family back, and hold on to that happily ever after with every last breath in me.

"So…I guess I wasn't just miraculously able to sing one day," I said with a laugh after a minute.

Bella looked like she wanted to say something, but she hesitated.

"What?" I asked.

"Your mom…she was a very good singer," she said carefully. "She used to teach…I took a couple lessons from her, but I was just a lost cause," she told me with an embarrassed laugh. Bella knew talk about my slaughtered family had been off limits for me, but things were different now. My family wasn't murdered, my family was right there on that plane with me. Rapunzel and Bella were all I would ever need, so even talk about the past in that way, wasn't going to get to me. I wouldn't let it.

"I wish I remembered," I said honestly.

"Maybe, somehow, someday you will," she said supportively.

That discussion was not in the plans. I was supposed to be wooing her, not the other way around. But every word that she spoke just made me fall in love with her even more. I'd like to think I was stronger now; I'd like to believe I could eventually accept whatever decision Bella made for her future, but I knew in that moment that I never could. I couldn't go on if she chose the other guy, not even for Rapunzel's sake. I needed Bella, there was nothing else to it.

We landed a few hours after that, and were greeted by a waiting car to take us to my apartment. It was getting late by then, so I thought it was best to go straight there so Rapunzel could get to bed. But the moment we got there, Rapunzel perked up and excitedly showed Bella around the place; after all, she probably knew it better than I did at that point.

"And this is my room, because it's bigger," Rapunzel told Bella.

"Oh…it's nice," Bella said as Rapunzel made herself right at home.

"We can go to a hotel," Bella told me quietly.

"No, you can't," I said seriously and then walked away, unwilling to continue to discuss the topic.

I showed Bella to the smaller of the two guest rooms, so she could get settled in as well. I felt kind of bad that she was stuck in that room, but then again, it didn't make sense to put Rapunzel in the smaller room when hopefully Bella would be moving into the master with me sooner rather than later. So, I said goodnight, and left Bella alone to get comfortable.

I tucked Rapunzel in and said goodnight to her as well, before going to the living room and texting Jasper.

**Back in NY – E**

**Cool, how'd it go? - J**

**Saw Alice – E**

**No shit! Did she ask about me? – J**

**Nope. Sorry, U never came up – E**

**Fucking douche – J**

I couldn't help but laugh at that. After more than a decade, the loser still had a thing for his high school girlfriend. It wasn't like they shared some deep bond the way Bella and I did, but he was definitely still interested.

**You're a fucking rock star. If U want her, get your ass out there and get her – E**

**Is she single? – J**

**She's not married – E**

**That's not what I asked – J**

**She's dating someone, but what difference does that make? – E** - I wrote, thinking about my situation with Bella. I wasn't into the whole cheating, home-wrecking thing, but sometimes people were just in the wrong relationship.

**Touché – J**

"Late night booty call?" Bella said unexpectedly. I looked up to see her standing there with a smirk. I guess she wasn't ready to go to bed after all…which was more than fine by me.

"No, it's Jasper. He still has a thing for Alice, so I was just giving him some details," I explained.

"Sure," she said jokingly as she came to sit on the couch with me.

"What? You really think I'd be texting a chick for a booty call with you and Carlie here?" I asked incredulously; although I did enjoy the small level of jealousy she was giving off.

"It's none of my business," Bella said quickly.

"But it could be," I said teasingly, but completely serious.

She just rolled her eyes.

I kept telling myself not to push my luck and move too fast with her, but it was difficult when all I wanted to do was pick her up bridal style, and rush her back to my room to make love all night.

"Is Jasper really still into Alice?" Bella asked with a smile.

"Would Alice be interested?" I asked her.

"Maybe, who knows," Bella said cryptically.

"What about her boyfriend?" I asked, even though I was actually just interested in her take on the matter. If she was ok with Jasper going after Alice when she had a boyfriend, then I'd take it as her subtle invitation to let me try with her.

Bella shrugged. "Jasper has every right to try; it's up to Alice on whether or not she'll go for it."

_Game on!…_Not that I needed her permission, or anything.

"But of course, Alice isn't very serious with her boyfriend. It's not like they're headed for marriage, or anything," Bella added.

Fuck.

As much as I wasn't going to let her comment detour my ultimate goal, I still didn't want to talk about it anymore at that moment, so I grabbed the remote, and was actually stunned at what was on TV.

"Hey look, it's that gag-worthy teen vampire movie you forced me to watch a long time ago," I said with a laugh.

"Oh, I still love this movie," she said excitedly.

"And, the guy is still a wimp when it comes to sex. How many of these movies are there now?"

"Five," she said quickly.

"And let me guess, he's still a virgin and she still wants him to bite her?" I said mockingly.

"No, they're married and have a vampire baby," Bella said with a laugh.

"UGH!" I said while throwing the remote. "That's fucking stupid. Vampires are dead, how the hell do they have babies?"

"Well, think about it, if he's dead and _hard_ as stone, then he's always ready for action any time of day," Bella said with a giggle.

I just stared at her in disbelief.

"What? Oh come on, I'm not the only one who has ever thought about that," she said defensively.

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess I could see how rigor-mortis could be sexy," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up," she said while playfully smacking me. "So, what's the plan tomorrow, anyway?"

"I have to go shoot this TV appearance thing, but it should only take an hour or two at the most. I figured afterwards, we could just hang out. Maybe go to the zoo or skating in the park or something."

"Ok…yeah, whatever you want to do. I've never been here before, so I'm up for anything."

"Anything?" I questioned with a smile.

"Well…I guess it depends what the 'anything' is," she said suspiciously.

"What, don't you trust me?" I asked with a sadistic grin.

She just smiled back, but didn't respond any other way.

We both finally went to our respective beds, and surprisingly, I had an even a harder time sleeping than normal. Bella was just two doors down from me, and it took every last ounce of self control I was capable of, to not go in there.

I then started to wonder what she would do if I did go in there. Would she yell at me, and tell me to go fuck myself? Perhaps she actually wanted me to go to her. Maybe she would just watch me as I touched her, and then let her body respond to mine the way it always had? Even if she wasn't ready to be with me completely, reconnecting physically wouldn't hurt, right? It would be easy, natural, we could fall right back into our amazing routine we had before. We could slowly develop our relationship during the day, and completely come together explosively at night.

But, who the fuck was I kidding? She was engaged, so there was no way she'd let me inside her. Of course, that didn't stop my body from _reacting_ to the thought.

Fuck.

I tried to take care of it myself, but the truth was that I quickly lost interest. I didn't want my hand there; I wanted hers, so I opted for a cold shower instead.

The next morning, Rapunzel and I were making pancakes when Bella came out of the bathroom. She was fully dressed, but her hair was dripping wet from just getting out of the shower, and once again, I was picturing her naked. I thought about the time when she walked out of the shower, right past me completely nude, and I wished more than anything she'd do that again. I had only seen her naked one time without her being pregnant, and in that moment, all I could think about was the things I could do to her without having her enlarged stomach between us.

Fuck!

Needless to say, I had to excuse myself to the bathroom again.

_Get a hold of yourself, Masen_ – I thought. I couldn't just pop one every time Bella was around, I needed to remember that I was a fucking adult, and not some adolescent zit faced inexperienced horny teenager.

"So, what time do you have to work today?" Bella asked me when I got finished in the bathroom.

"Uh…" I said while looking on my phone calendar. "Eleven thirty," I told her.

"Ok, well we'll just wait for you here then," Bella assumed.

"No, I want to go watch," Rapunzel pleaded.

"Yeah, you can definitely come," I told them.

"We don't want to get in the way," Bella said quickly.

"Trust me, there's always a ton of people at those things. No one will even notice you," I assured her.

"Oh, ok," she said.

The morning went by quickly, and then we headed down to the garage to get my car. I decided to drive, because I wanted to show Bella around the city a little, just to plant the idea that she could possibly live there one day. I drove her by the huge expansive library, museums, the best private schools for Carlie, and of course Central Park. She seemed interested by it all, but I had no idea if she understood the reason for me showing her.

When we got to the location of the shoot however, I realized that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to take them with me after all.

"Hey baby, you ready for today?" Tanya asked me.

"I had no idea you were going to be here," I said irritated.

"Oh, well Aro called me," she said while putting her arm around me.

"Of course, he did," I mumbled.

"Who's this?" Tanya asked me, referring to Bella and Rapunzel.

"Uh, my friends," I said vaguely. Rapunzel narrowed her eyes at Tanya, and then glared at me with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Tanya, I'll talk to you later, ok," I said suggestively, hoping she'd leave.

"Ok babe," she said before kissing my cheek, and walking away.

"Well, she seems_…nice_," Bella said with faux sincerity.

"Yeah, well she's not," I told her, without really telling her anything. I fully planned on explaining more about Tanya later, but that wasn't the time or place.

We went into the greenroom where the rest of my band was, and they all immediately greeted Rapunzel happily.

"Hey! You're back!" Garrett said to her, despite already knowing she was coming.

"Hi," Rapunzel said back. "Is Kate here?"

"Yeah she's with Tanya…hey, Bella," Garrett greeted her.

"Hi Garrett, it's good to see you," she responded as they hugged hello.

I finished introducing them, but Jasper pulled me aside to warn me about Tanya.

"Yeah, I know she's here. What the fuck is wrong with Aro? I told him I didn't want to do that shit anymore," I said bitterly.

"Well, all he cares about is your image, and with you being MIA lately, he got worried," Jasper explained.

"I don't give a fuck! I don't give a fuck about any of this shit, and as soon as my contract is up, I'm out."

"Dude, until then, you just have to deal," Jasper encouraged.

Tanya was my beard, so to speak. I wasn't gay, but I never had much of a desire to show up to public events with scantily clad models, the way a good rock star should; so Aro always hired us 'dates'. Tanya was mine, and Kate had been Garrett's, although, their relationship moved into something real. I really didn't care what my PR people and band mates thought of me, but they definitely cared what all our fans thought, so I had always went along with it in the past. But that was before I actually had something real to care about, so I refused to do it anymore.

"Man, my daughter is here; I don't want Tanya hanging all over me," I told Jasper angrily.

"Just explain to Rapunzel that it's not real," Jasper suggested.

"No. How the fuck am I supposed to explain this to a ten year old? It's disturbing, and I don't want her thinking this shit is ok."

"Let me talk to Aro about it then….Bella is pretty hot, maybe you can use her instead," Jasper said shamelessly.

"Fuck you," I said lightly. I meant to sound angrier, but it was actually a good idea. Even though I thought the whole thing was ridiculous, Bella was definitely more than sexy enough to play the part, and she was worlds better than Tanya the Mega Bitch any day.

"Look, I didn't want to tell you this over the phone, but we have to show up at the 'Heat' opening tomorrow night, too," Jasper said reluctantly.

"That new night club downtown?" I asked sourly.

"Yep, and Aro wants you bringing a date. So if you want to take Bella, then you better let him know today so he doesn't have to book Tanya."

"Man, I don't want to go to a fucking nightclub. Bella and Carlie are here; all I want to do is stay home and pop popcorn with a Disney movie," I said pathetically. I almost wanted to laugh at myself with how boring I had become over the years. The old me would have hated the guy I had become, but it was the absolute truth. I had no desire to go pretend to party.

"Look, I'll talk to Carmen about watching Carlie tomorrow night, but you have to go, so just pick who you'd rather go with," Jasper said.

"Fine. Talk to Carmen about Carlie, and I'll talk to Bella," I agreed grudgingly. Carmen was our manager, but really she was more like our band mom. She pretty much took care of any and all of life's needs, even the ones that went beyond the job. She had been with us for almost five years, so I trusted her completely with Rapunzel for the night, but that didn't make leaving her any easier.

I walked back to Bella and Rapunzel, who were chatting with Garrett and the other guys, and once again, I regretted bringing them there.

"Dad, what's a douche bag?" Rapunzel asked innocently.

I glared at each one of those idiots, daring them to come forward with who spoke that way in front of my daughter. Someone was seriously going to get a beat down.

"It was Ben," Alec said quickly.

My hand twitched, but it was time to go on, so I was forced to save my ass kicking for later.

We did our bit, I said what I was supposed to say, smiled in all the appropriate areas, and was so glad when it was done.

"Dad, that was so cool!" Rapunzel said when I came back over to them.

"Thanks baby," I said trying my best to sound happy about the entire thing. Despite how much I didn't want to be there, I had to remind myself that it was all exciting for her, and I didn't want to crush that.

"Yeah, you guys were really good," Bella added.

"Thanks," I said quietly, actually feeling rather embarrassed suddenly.

But leave it to Rapunzel to never let an awkward moment last. "So, what now?" she asked me eagerly.

"What do you want to do?" I asked her as the three of us walked towards the exit.

"Hey Edward!" Jasper called after me.

"Yeah?"

"Just talked to Aro. He wants Bella to meet with a stylist tomorrow afternoon."

"Excuse me?" Bella asked confused. "Are you talking about _me_?"

"Yeah…" I said while Jasper gave me an apologetic look. "Uh…I need a date to this club opening thing tomorrow night," I told her hesitantly.

"And, you want _me_ to go?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey Carlie, do you want a candy from the vending machine?" Jasper asked, trying to distract her so I could talk to Bella alone.

"Edward, I can't be your _date_," Bella said to me quietly.

"Look, it's not like that. I just need an attractive woman to hang out with me, that's it," I told her honestly. "The truth is, I'm just going to go, make an appearance, and then leave."

"What about that other woman who was here before?" Bella questioned.

"Tanya? She's nothing. A hired chick to do what hopefully you'll do for me for free," I said with a smirk.

"And why would I?" she asked as seriously as she could right then. She tried to hide it, but I could definitely see a smile playing on the edge of her lips.

"Well, I can pay you if you want," I told her with a grin.

"What about Carlie?"

"I already have it handled," I said smugly.

"So…you want me to go with you to this club, to basically just be seen, and then we can leave?" she asked skeptically.

"Exactly. It'll be late though, so we may have to just let Carlie stay with Carmen for the night….but she'll love it. Carmen has a daughter just a little older than her, and I'm sure they'll get along great."

"I don't have anything to wear to something like that," she said in a last ditch effort to get out of it.

"That's why Aro arranged for you to meet with a stylist. They'll do your hair and all that girly shit, and make sure you have stuff to wear….you'd really be doing me a huge favor. I really can't stand that other chick."

"Who's Aro?" she asked confused.

"Oh, he's the big wig at the record label that basically owns us. We pretty much have to do what he tells us until our contract is up, which thankfully isn't too far from now," I told her.

Bella thought about it for a few minutes, and just when she seemed like she was going to say no, I asked her "please?" so she sighed and reluctantly agreed.

Thank god. I really had no idea how I'd make it through the night with Tanya.

Rapunzel, Bella, and I spent the rest of the day touring the city. Rapunzel wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty, so that's what we did, and I ended our day out by taking my favorite girls to one of the nicest restaurants in the area.

"What's es-car-got?" Rapunzel asked as she looked over the menu.

Bella laughed. "Escargot," she corrected her. "It's snails."

"Eww," Rapunzel said in disgust. "Who would eat that?"

I laughed. "A lot of people like it."

"That's gross…what's caviar?" Rapunzel asked then.

I laughed again, already knowing what her reaction would be….and I was right.

"Why would people eat fish eggs?" she asked after Bella told her.

She finally settled on the trout, but when it came whole, head and all, Rapunzel looked like she was going to be sick.

"I thought your grandpa was a fisherman?" I asked her amused by her reaction.

She shook her head. "He always takes the heads off before giving it to me."

"Here, I'll cut the head and tail off for you," Bella said while taking her plate.

But even with the fish fully dissected, Rapunzel still had a hard time eating it. She said it was because she had seen its face, and couldn't get it out of her mind, which I actually understood.

Bella had gotten pasta of some sort, and even though she graciously ate it without a word of complaint, I could tell it wasn't her thing either, and once again, I felt stupid for even bringing them there.

"Thanks for dinner, it was really nice," Bella said politely afterwards.

"Thank you daddy," Rapunzel said as well.

"Yeah…it was pretty gross though, wasn't it?" I said with a wink.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but…"

"Carlie!" Bella scolded her.

"Mom, he asked."

"No, it's ok, I completely agree," I told Bella. "Now, what do you say we go and get a burger?"

"Really?" Rapunzel asked excitedly.

"Of course, I'm starved."

Later that evening, after Rapunzel went to bed, Bella took out her cell and immediately started texting. I was lounging on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV, but Bella's damn texting was really starting to piss me off.

"Doesn't he know its late here?" I asked bitterly after awhile. I assumed she was texting her fiancé, and even though he was on the other side of the country, I still didn't like him interrupting my time with her.

"Um, Edward," Bella said hesitantly.

"Yeah?" I asked just as hesitant. I really didn't like her tone, because I knew she was about to say something that was going to upset me.

"Would you mind terribly…if you had another houseguest?"

Yep, I was pissed. There was no way in hell I'd let her stupid ass fiancé stay with me. Who the hell did she think I was?

"I'm not cool with him staying here with you. I know you're engaged and all, and you know I'm not one of those '_wait until marriage to fuck'_ kind of people, but…I just can't stand the thought of you doing that here," I said sourly.

"Huh? No, it's Alice," she said unexpectedly. "I sort of told her about Jasper asking questions, so she hopped on the first flight she could to get here. She swears it's because I need some company while you work, but I know her real reason," she said with a smirk.

The bitterness I felt immediately evaporated the moment she said 'Alice'. As much as I wanted time with just Bella and Rapunzel, having Alice there could actually be a good thing. Perhaps I could even get her to come to my aid and help me win back Bella.

"Uh, yeah sure. I'd love to have Alice here. You know, I'll set her up with the stylist too, and she can come with us to the club tomorrow night."

Bella laughed once. "Trust me, she won't need a stylist…but she'll probably think its fun anyway, so thanks."

I nodded. "So, when will she be here?"

Bella bit her lower lip. "In ten minutes," she said sheepishly.

I smiled. "Of course, she will."

"Sorry, she didn't tell me until just now. It's a good thing she didn't know where you lived, because I guarantee she would have just showed up without any notice whatsoever."

"Yeah, I'm sure," I agreed. "Here, just text her with the address and I'll call down to the door guy to tell him to expect her."

"Thanks Edward," Bella said sincerely.

"What are you thanking me for? She's my sister."

"I know, but after ten years I can imagine how all of us crashing your life, might be a little overwhelming."

I shook my head. "You have no idea how empty my life was without you," I told her intensely. "I just have no idea how I'm going to ever handle you leaving again."

"Well…we're just going to have to work something out, because we…I mean Carlie doesn't want to be far away from you either. It's amazing how quickly you two have become this close."

I nodded. "I don't know how I ever lived without…_her_."

We stared at each other for a long heavy moment, and I felt like we had an entire wordless conversation in that time. I poured my heart out and begged for her to understand, but even if she did feel our intense connection, she didn't say it.

Bella texted Alice while I called down to the door guy, but more than anything, I just wished I had another few hours with Bella alone. I didn't know if I would have told her how I was really feeling right then, but it still was amazing to be feeling it without distractions, regardless.

And then there was a knocking on the door….Alice had arrived.

Bella ran to open it, and Alice immediately walked inside, just the way Rapunzel had her first time there. Alice stopped, looked around and then said – "Oh, this is nice. Come on Bella, lets figure out what we're going to wear to this club tomorrow," before grabbing her arm, and pulling her towards the hall to the guest rooms.

"Hi Alice, good to see you again too," I said casually to myself. "Please, make yourself at home."

Alice came floating back quickly, and kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks Edward. And I really am happy to have my brother back," she said before hurrying back to Bella.

I really did love Alice like a sister, but I couldn't wait to get the stupid club thing over and done with. Hopefully then, Alice would be Jasper's house guest, and I could go back to concentrating on regaining Bella's affections.

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><p><strong>****Oh Edward, remember how Bella gets when you take her clubbing? (Ch 5) You should be thrilled about this! Lol. - Coming Next!<strong>

**Please Review!**


	22. Flying

**Unintended**

A/N: *Spoilerish* some of you asked for it, and I don't like to disappoint, so here it is! You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it. Hint– this chapter is rated **M **for adult _content_…Does anyone else smell something _citrusy_? ;)

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><p>~Chapter 22 –<em>Flying<em>~

Alice had spent the night in the room Bella had slept in the night before, and Bella bunked in with Rapunzel, though I was still hoping she'd get a clue and come sleep with me instead. And the next morning, while Bella was helping Rapunzel get ready for her sleepover at Carmen's house, Alice decided it was time to 'talk'.

"So?" she said intently. I had just made a pot of coffee, and we were sitting at the breakfast bar together, but the tone of her 'so', made me a little uneasy.

"So, what?" I asked hesitantly.

"So, do you have a girlfriend?" she asked in the same tone.

"No," I said quickly.

"Fuck buddy?" she asked unexpectedly.

I almost spit my coffee out at that one.

"No, I can't say that I do."

Alice narrowed her eyes at me, and glared without blinking through an entire sip of her drink.

"Do you want Bella back?" she asked seriously.

"Wow, you don't beat around the bush, do you?" I said with a laugh, before getting up to pour myself another cup.

"Just answer the question," Alice insisted.

"Fine. Yes, I want her back," I admitted.

Without warning, Alice grabbed the newspaper off the counter, and smacked me on the side of the head with it.

"What the hell was that for?"

"If you want her back, then what the hell are you waiting for?" she said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Alice, I haven't seen her in over a decade. These things take time," I tried reasoning.

"You don't have time. She told me she's planning on going back to Washington in a couple days. Edward, she wants you to make the first move."

"What? Did she say that?" I asked eagerly.

"No…not in so many words. But Edward, she came here, didn't she?"

"Yeah, for Rapunzel."

"Who's Rapunzel?" she asked confused.

"Carlie."

"Why do you call her Rapunzel? Her hair isn't _that_ long, or even golden."

"It's because she….never mind, it's a long story. Anyway, Bella is engaged, I can't just grab her and start kissing her."

Alice huffed in frustration. "She hasn't had sex since you," she said abruptly.

I scrunched my face. "What…how do you know?"

"Because she told me. No offense or anything, but she's a much better sister than you were ever a brother."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's not hard to believe. But Alice, she's engaged, you mean she's…"

"Saving it for marriage…like she didn't care about doing with you."

I thought about it for a moment, but then I shook my head. "She probably just learned her lesson when she did it with me," I concluded.

But Alice shook her head even more. "Come on, her fiancé is a snooze. I wouldn't want to have sex with him either. They act more like siblings than a couple. I mean, I know he's a good guy and she cares about him, but it's in a platonic way. She only agreed to marry him because she was lonely and tired of waiting for you to get your head out of your ass and come back. Don't you think its fate that they moved the date up of their wedding, and then all of a sudden, you decide to come back?"

"No, I call it the meddling of a ten year old….and now a – how old are you again?" I asked suggestively.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. This is your last chance because once she's married, she'll never let you this close again, and you'll both be doomed to live miserable lives forever….trust me, I can see the future."

Suddenly, I had a moment of guilt. "But Alice, I ruined her life and made it a living hell for her. I've hurt her so much more than anyone else ever has…maybe I should just let her go," I said, though, even as the words came out of my mouth, I knew they were bullshit. Of course I didn't deserve her, but then again, no one did. And if what Alice was saying about Bella's relationship with her fiancé was true, then I sure as hell didn't want her being with him. She deserved to be happy and feel passion, and I was positive I could be that for her.

"Being a good person doesn't have anything to do with love…but I think you are a good person Edward. A good person who had a lot of shit tossed on your plate at a young age. You're stronger now, and I know you can handle it."

"Thanks," I said halfheartedly. Her confidence in me actually felt good, but at the same time, all I cared about was what was best for Bella. I was in control of myself at the moment, but what would happen during the inevitable times when things got hard again? Life was hard, and sometimes, no matter what you do, things just happen.

"So…tell me about Jasper," Alice said finally.

I laughed. "He definitely still has it bad for you….but what about your boyfriend?"

She smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "There was never half the passion with him that I had with Jazz. I dumped the other guy as soon as I realized there might be a chance with my first love," she said with a wink.

"Gotcha," I said, understanding her innuendo.

The four of us went out to breakfast, and even though I wanted to invite Jasper, Alice practically bit my head off. "He can't see me until tonight, when I'm all sexy."

I laughed. "Ok, Alice."

"Aunt Alice, you're always pretty," Rapunzel said, not entirely understanding what 'sexy' means.

"Thanks sweetie, but tonight, I have to look more than pretty," Alice told her seriously.

"So Rapunzel, what are _we_ going to do while they're in the salon?" I asked her.

"Um….can we go bungee jumping?" she asked unexpectedly.

"No way," Bella and I said at the same time.

"Sky diving?" Rapunzel asked then.

"How about we do something here on the ground this time," I said to her amused by her desire for an adrenaline rush. "Oh, I have an idea," I said excitedly.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Nope, it's a surprise," I told her. Bella looked a little anxious about my scheming tone, but I knew she trusted me with her, and she shrugged it off.

That afternoon, Bella and Alice went to meet the stylist, and I took Rapunzel to my big surprise.

"What is this place?" she asked confused.

"You said you wanted to go skydiving right? Well, here you can do it safely," I told her.

"So, I go into that little room, and a fan pushes me up so it feels like skydiving?" she asked.

"Exactly. Sounds fun, huh?"

Her face broke into a huge smile. "Let's do it!"

After sitting through the instruction class thing, I laughed and took pictures as Rapunzel flew in the big air chamber. The huge smile on her face never once lessened, and when she was finished, she asked to do it again.

"You can definitely do it again…another time. Right now I have to get you over to Carmen's place for your sleepover." I told her.

"Ok…but what if Carmen's daughter doesn't like me?"

"Who wouldn't like you?" I asked with a smile.

"That's true; I am very likable," she said seriously. Since spending a little time with Alice again, I began to see just how much of a role all the Cullens had played in Rapunzel's life. As much of Bella that I saw in her, she definitely had personality traits from Alice, Rose, and I even saw Emmett in her at times as well. It was like everyone had a place in her, which was really nice.

"Hi," Carmen's daughter Irina said, as soon as we arrived at their apartment.

"Hi," Rapunzel replied with a friendly tone.

"Why don't you come in Carlie, and make yourself at home," Carmen said with a smile.

"I like your hair, it's really pretty," Irina told Rapunzel. "I wish I had long red hair like that."

"My hair isn't red," Rapunzel said quickly. "It's bronze, just like my dad's."

"Oh yeah, well, it's still pretty," Irina said, and then they ran off to her bedroom.

Rapunzel's 'hair' comment made me think about my stupidity yet again. I had actually thought she was Vicky's briefly because of the red. It was ridiculous because Rapunzel was right; her hair was the exact color of mine at her age. My hair had darkened since then, but still, she definitely got it from me.

"Thanks for watching her," I said to Carmen.

"No, thank you for letting me. I'm glad you decided to bring a real date tonight, that Tanya bitch was really starting to get on my last nerve," she said strongly.

"Yeah, I think the feeling was unanimous. You know, as our manager, you really should have gone to bat for me more with Aro a long time ago."

"I tried. If you would have just stopped brooding for a few minutes and actually showed interest in women, Aro wouldn't have had to hire her. Besides, it seemed to work well for Garrett."

"True," I agreed. "But Kate is far less annoying than Tanya."

"True," Carmen said with a smile while handing me a garment bag. "You better get going. Make sure your hair and everything is nice, and Edward…get your baby momma some flowers."

I smiled. "Duly noted."

I stopped in a flower shop, and had an entire expensive array for Bella made up, but as I carried them out of the store, I realized that I was doing it again. Bella didn't respond to lavish things like that, so I took the entire bouquet and gave it to a random woman on the street.

I went back to my apartment, and grudgingly got dressed into whatever Carmen had gotten me for the evening. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was just a t-shirt with jeans and an over shirt, though I really didn't understand why I couldn't have put that together myself.

It was still a little early, so I decided to head over to Jasper's place until it was time to leave.

"Hey, is Alice here?" Jasper asked paranoid when he answered the door.

"No, she's with Bella," I said with a laugh.

"_Phew_, I wasn't ready to see her just yet."

I laughed again. "Something tells me you'll be fine."

"Hey ladies, are we ready to party?" Ben said as he walked right into J's apartment, with Alec and Felix tailing behind him.

"What the hell? Don't you fucking knock?" Jasper asked angrily.

"Sorry bro, I didn't know you and Edward were in here having a private moment. Damn, I thought Garrett was Edward's bitch," Ben said teasingly.

"No, they're both my bitches. They take turns," I joked.

"Oh Edward, will you do me too?" Felix said while turning around and sticking his ass out.

"Sure, but only with his dick," I said while grabbing Alec and pushing him into him.

"You're a fucking douche," Alec said bitterly. "But speaking of fucking, I have something for you."

Assuming he was still joking, I laughed. "No thanks. Whatever you got, you're just going to have to give it to him," I said while gesturing to Felix.

"No, no, this is definitely for you," he said while pulling out a pack of condoms.

"What the fuck?" I asked annoyed.

"Oh come on, we all know what happened the first time you fucked around with this chick. I just don't want you making that same mistake twice," he said lightly, _but I didn't take it that way_.

"OH SHIT! What the fuck was that for?" Alec cried as he held his newly broken nose. My fist didn't even sting from the contact it made on his face, but I was still beyond pissed.

"Say that shit to me again!" I challenged.

"What the hell is wrong with you, it was a fucking joke?" Felix said as he picked his friend up off the ground.

"Oh yeah, well it's not too funny is it," I spat.

"Dude, you just called his daughter a _mistake_," Jasper explained.

"Not cool," Ben added.

"Oh," Felix said.

"Shit, well you certainly didn't get her knocked up on purpose," Alec said defensively.

"Since you're still squirming around like a little bitch, and I don't want to get blood all over Jasper's apartment, I'm going to ignore that comment," I fumed.

"Ok fine, no 'mistake' comments," Alec said while putting his hands up in a defensive position. "Sorry."

"Felix, go take Alec to the hospital," Jasper instructed.

"No, what about the club?" Felix whined.

"You have your pass. Just go get Alec's nose taken care of, and meet us there," Jasper told them. "Ben, why don't you go with the too."

"Yeah, alright," he agreed, and then the three of them left.

"Why do you let that shit get to you? They're just ignorant morons," Jasper said to me.

"Yeah, well controlling my temper has never been my strong suit," I told him seriously.

"Well, just relax. The sooner we get this night over with, the sooner we can have some alone time with the _ladies_," Jasper encouraged.

"Yeah, but I have no idea how many more cold showers I can stand," I joked. "You're lucky, Alice is single now."

"No shit?"

"Dude, you could just go right up to her and stick your fucking tongue in her mouth, and she'd enjoy it," I said lightly, but was probably right.

"Aw man, I can't fucking wait…can I have some of these?" he asked while picking up the pack of condoms off the floor.

"Hold up," I said while grabbing it from him and checking the wrapping for any signs of damage.

"What are you doing?" he asked confused.

"You never know. I love my daughter more than anything, but it's best to be prepared," I told him.

"Oh come on, Alec is a moron, but he'd never mess with a guy's condoms."

"Probably not," I agreed, and then gave him back the package. Jasper took a few out, then handed me back the rest.

"Just take them all. It's not like they'll go to any use with me."

"You never know," he said while pushing a few into my hand.

"Whatever," I said carelessly, and then put them into my pocket for argument sake.

We had a limo come pick us up, and then we went to get Bella and Alice. But on the way there, I told the driver to stop.

"What's up?" Jasper asked curiously.

"Nothing, I just want to grab something," I said while getting out of the car. I ran into the corner store there, and bought what I needed, before hurrying back into the limo. Jasper looked confused by my purchase, but he didn't say anything.

When we got to the place where the girls were, they were still inside, but instead of having the limo driver call in, I decided it would be best to get out to greet them. Jasper didn't want to look like a chump, so he followed my lead.

But when they came out, both of us almost lost our balance.

"Holy fuck," Jasper said under his breath.

They both came out in skin tight mini dresses, but I had no idea how Alice looked, because I couldn't peel my eyes off of Bella. Bella was always beautiful, but seeing her dressed up like a fucking super model made it extremely difficult to concentrate.

"You look…wow," I mumbled to her.

She smirked. "Thanks. I feel a little ridiculous, though," she said honestly.

"Yeah," I told her absently, but then I realized what I had just said. "I mean, no. You look amazing."

"Thanks," she said again with her cheeks darkening to a mesmerizing shade of pink.

"Uh…" Bella said with a laugh. I turned around and saw Jasper and Alice in full make out mode.

"That didn't take long," I said with a laugh. "Come on, let's get in," I told Bella.

"Yeah, they look like they could use a minute," she agreed with a giggle.

When we climbed in and took our seats, I pulled out what I had just bought for Bella. "I got this for you," I said feeling a little embarrassed.

But it was the right choice, because her face broke out in the biggest grin. "Awe, you remembered," she said happily as she took the apple from me.

"Yeah, but I doubt we'll run into any deer tonight," I said with a nervous chuckle.

She smiled again. "That's ok, we can save it. Thank you, Edward," she said sincerely.

"It's just an apple," I said dismissively.

"No it's not…it's a memory. A really good one," she said softly.

"Definitely a good one," I agreed.

I watched as she put the apple up to her lips like she was going to eat it, but instead she just kept it there for a moment, and then brought it back down to her lap. I didn't understand it, but for some reason, I thought it was one of the most beautiful things she had ever done.

Jasper and Alice eventually got inside, and we took off towards the club. Since it was the grand opening, there were a ton of people and photographers around, hoping to get a glimpse of any celebrities that showed. So when the limo stopped, and we got out, I grabbed Bella's hand really hoping she understood that it was just for the paps…even if I didn't believe it myself.

I half expected her to pull away, but she didn't. Instead, she wove her fingers with mine, and held on securely. We definitely still had a strong wave of electricity between us, and I knew she felt it too, even if she didn't acknowledge it. Her hand in mine was an amazing feeling, but just having her there with me meant more than she could ever know.

We all smiled and walked past the cameras, but when we got inside, Bella still didn't let go of my hand, to which I was more than thrilled about.

"Wow, this is…neat!" Bella said loudly over the music.

I really hated places like that, but anyplace was perfect with Bella holding my hand in that way.

The four of us made our way to our private reserved table, and got settled in before a waitress came around to get our drink order.

"Uh, I'll just have a _Heineken_," I told the waitress. Alice ordered a _Cosmo_, Jasper got a _Bull Frog_, but when it came time for Bella to say what she wanted, I started to wonder if she even drank at all. But of course, that was just my original perception of her being a goodie goodie seeping back in, because she didn't seem to have a problem knowing exactly what she wanted.

"I'll have a _Lost Cherry_," she said with ease.

_Oh. My. Fucking. God. Why the hell did I have to miss out on being with adult Bella?_

"So, you're going to drink a _Lost Cherry_, with the guy you lost your cherry to?" Alice said teasingly.

"Gosh Alice," Bella said embarrassed. "I just like them. When you ordered a _Sloppy Pussy_ last month at that bar in Seattle, I didn't ask if you were a lesbian."

"Damn, we missed way too much over the years," Jasper said to me, but the girls just rolled their eyes.

We waited for our drinks, and then various people came over to talk and hang with us for awhile. Garrett showed up with Kate, and we all kicked back and tried to relax. When everyone was finished with their first drinks, Jasper quickly ordered another round.

"Come spin me around, or lose me forever," Alice said to Jasper after their third drink, but she didn't wait for him to answer before dragging him onto the dance floor.

"So, do you want dance?" I asked Bella uncomfortably.

"No, I don't dance," she said quickly.

I laughed. "Not in Forks, but you're on the opposite side of the country, so there's no one here to see you."

"Yeah, except hundreds of cameras and even more cell phones with the ability to take pictures," she said in a rush.

"Oh come on, what could it hurt?" I asked.

"Wow, when did you become a proponent for dancing? I do remember having to practically force you to dance with me the last time," she said with a smirk.

I couldn't help but smile at that. "But, it was definitely worth it."

Bella was about to cave, but then we had more company. A couple guys from Maroon 5 came over to say hey, and then they sat and made themselves right at home at our table. We chitchatted for a bit, but the entire time, I was fighting within myself to not reach over and touch Bella. She was smiling and nodding politely when people spoke to her, but I just happened to glance down to see the amazing way her dress was riding up her lap, and I was done for.

I couldn't help it; it was beyond my control, so I reached over and placed my hand on her bare thigh. She tensed slightly from my touch, but beyond that, she showed no response whatsoever.

So, I decided to push my luck. I slowly moved my hand up towards the hem of her dress, and she responded by crossing her legs away from me. I watched her face as she listened to whoever was talking to her, but she showed no signs of being upset, so of course, I continued.

I slipped my fingers between her crossed thighs, and then continued to move back up to her hem again. And then I went under her dress. The table was making it impossible for anyone else to see what I was doing, but as my hand went up further, so did her dress.

I had no idea if Bella even realized she was doing it, but her legs separated, just enough for me to reach her panties.

Bella was just staring blankly at her drink at that point, but she never pushed my away.

But then her legs uncrossed completely, and her hand shot down to mine and grabbed a hold of it tightly.

Fuck.

As her grip loosened however, she let my hand go in the exact same place it already was in, right at her panties.

Did she actually want me to continue?

Then she did something that nearly made me lose my mind…she pushed my hand closer to her tenderness.

_Oh dear lord. _

So, I traced up her slit on the outside of her panties, and I could definitely feel her moistness there…she wanted me, and she was making it gloriously clear.

With total confidence, and much more purpose, I moved my hand right under the elastic of her lacy panties, and immediately buried my fingers inside her. Her breathing quickened, and she dropped her head into her hands as if she was just moving her hair, but I knew better.

I curled my fingers and let my thumb work her swell, before slowly pumping them in and out of her. She was trying hard not to let anyone see her enjoyment, but as I felt her inner walls begin to throb around my fingers, I knew she was losing all control.

I wasn't sure if she had a moment of clarity and realized what I was doing, or if it just became too much for her to handle in such a public setting, but she suddenly grabbed my hand and forced it out of her panties and away from her. She wouldn't look at me, so I couldn't tell if she was angry or not, but she still didn't get up and move the way I would have expected her to do if she was pissed.

Some guy started talking to me then, but I wasn't paying attention. My fingers were dripping with Bella's essence, and I couldn't think about anything other than that. If there was any way to suck them clean without looking like a total idiot, I would have.

But then I had another problem… a very _hard_ problem to deal with.

Shit.

Even if I could make it to a bathroom without anyone noticing, what then? There were always a ton of people in the bathrooms of places like that, and there was no way in hell I would be able to whack off in a stall with dudes pissing just outside the door.

"Um, excuse us," Bella said to the people at our table, before grabbing my hand, and pulling me out of the booth and onto the dance floor.

Out of all the good times to want to dance, that was seriously not one of them. Thank god it was dark and crowded, so I pretty much hid my problem by pushing it into Bella's ass as we walked. I was sure she noticed, but despite my initiation of the touching I just did, it was definitely her fault. Her encouragement of my fingers on her, was definitely the reason why I was extremely uncomfortable at the moment.

I was about to tell her that dancing wasn't really an option right then, but I didn't have time, because once we were in her desired location, she latched onto me, and started grinding.

HOLY FUCK!

To anyone watching us, it would have just looked like a little bit of tasteless dancing…nothing dozens of other people weren't doing all around us, but to me, it was fucking nirvana. Even through my jeans she felt absolutely incredible, so I began uncontrollably thrusting into her to the rhythm of the music.

But I couldn't take it anymore, so I pulled away, and led her to an even more obscure corner of the dance floor. I shoved her back against the dark wall, and didn't hesitate as my lips crashed into hers. She responded strongly, and kissed me back just as intense. Our tongues reunited eagerly and aggressively, as they once again fought for dominance. And my hands automatically returned to her panties – one in the front, and the other behind.

But she didn't want my hands anymore; she pushed the one at her front away, and used her grasp on the back of my neck to urge me closer. She didn't have to ask me twice. I pushed my hips forward so my hardness was at her core, and I began pounding into her.

All I could think of was how easy it would have been to unbutton my pants. I could move her panties to the side, and no one would have known the difference. It would have been fucking amazing. But even just thinking about sliding in and out of her, while thrusting and grinding in the way that we were, I completely lost it. Her hands grabbed tightly into fists full of my shirt and hair as her body tensed, and I of course, blew my entire load right there in my pants….fuck.

But I didn't even care. Bella and I had reconnected in that way, and even if I wasn't completely inside of her the way I wanted, I still took it as a victory in my ultimate goal. Bella wasn't a cheater, so the fact that she had crossed that line with me, just proved that things were already over with the other guy – even if he didn't know it yet.

My lips were still working with hers, and the longer we stayed planted together like that, the more of a chance I'd end up messing my pants again, but I really didn't care. There could have been a spotlight on us and an announcement made over a loudspeaker instructing everyone in the building to turn a stare at us, and it wouldn't have made a difference. I wouldn't have even cared if the entire thing was videotaped and leaked on the internet, because I knew I had my life back, and that's all that mattered.

Of course, all good things had to come to an end, so eventually, she did pull away. She didn't say a word to me; she just left me standing there like an idiot as she hurried in the direction of the bathrooms. But I wasn't worried, I felt like I was fucking flying at that moment, and there was nothing that was going to bring me down.

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><p><strong>***And, breathe* lol.<strong>

**I wonder what comes next. Hmmm…. *scratches head*…just kidding, I know exactly what's coming next. You'll find out soon!**

**Please Review**


	23. What Goes Up

**Unintended**

A/N: As some have speculated, the end is near. I know, it's sad for me too, but once they get to HEA, then there isn't really anything left to write about. I'm not exactly sure how many chapters are left, my guess is two or three, but whatever feels natural is what it will be. Thanks for the support, and I guess it's safe to say that if you've been with me this far, you'll make it until the end….at least I hope you will…._but_ _maybe not after this_… :-O

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><p>~Chapter 23 – <em>What Goes Up<em>~

I stood there in the exact spot Bella left me in, but she didn't come back. Even still however, I wasn't really worried. After going to the bathroom to clean myself up as much as possible, I went back to the table to look for her there, but she wasn't.

"Hey, has anyone seen my…date?" I asked everyone there.

"No, but man, she's hot," one of the guys said. I had an overwhelming urge to punch the bastard for looking at Bella that way, but then I shook it away. Damn right she was hot.

"Yeah, I know…I mean thanks," I said casually, and then resumed my search. After about a half hour of not knowing where Bella was, doubt finally started seeping in. Where the hell was she?

But then, as if she knew exactly when I couldn't take it anymore, she appeared, looking beautifully sheepish.

"Hey, is everything ok?" I asked concerned, but relieved to find her at the same time.

"Yeah, sorry to disappear on you like that. When I got into the bathroom, Alice was there and she was having a crisis of some sort."

"Really? Is she ok, or do I need to kick Jasper's ass?" I asked seriously.

Bella laughed once. "No, they're fine. She was just having a moment…one of her normal Alice-y moments."

"I see," I said thinking I understood. "Well, do you want to hang out here for awhile…make sure Alice is ok, or do you want to take off?" I asked, seriously hoping she'd pick the latter.

Bella bit her bottom lip, and I knew I had her. "Alice is fine. Let's get going, my feet are killing me in these," she said unconvincingly. Her feet didn't really hurt, and we both knew it.

We said goodbye to Garrett and Kate, along with a few other people, before making our way to the limo. When we walked outside, the photographers were still there, so Bella immediately grabbed my hand but tried to look away from them.

"Wow, how do you ever get used to this?" she asked quietly.

"What?" I asked unsure.

"Getting you picture taken by total strangers."

"Oh…well, after awhile you learn to ignore them. I'm pretty lucky though, some people get that shit every time they step outside. I generally go unnoticed during normal outings."

"That's good," she said absently as we got into the limo.

When the door shut behind us, and the car began to move, Bella's uncomfortable vibe suddenly disappeared. She scooted closer to me, and like a complete blast from the past, she began tracing my fingers with hers in the most erotic way. She knew how I responded to such a simple touch, and she was definitely doing it on purpose.

"So, what does Tina do for you after she comes to these events?" Bella asked me seductively as her breath washed down my neck, sending electric waves over every inch of my body.

"Tina?" I asked confused. It was hard to focus on anything she was saying at that moment, but I definitely didn't know any Tinas.

"Um…Tara?" she guessed again, trying to remember the name of the wench on Aro's payroll who had posed as my girlfriend in the past.

"Tanya?" I tried remembering, but truthfully, I really didn't care what she called her.

"Whatever," Bella said quickly.

I laughed. "Well, she was a paid date, not a paid _'date'_. If you know what I mean."

"Oh…so you never fucked her?" she said abruptly. I was definitely not expecting her forwardness on the topic, but it was definitely hot.

"No," I stated.

"Too bad," she said surprisingly.

"Why?" I asked confused. I had no idea why the hell she'd be disappointed that I never fucked that bitch.

"Because, I take my job as her replacement very seriously, and if it was all just for show, then…"

She didn't have time to finish her comment, because my lips automatically crushed down on hers. She kissed me back roughly, and I even got the pleasure of her using my lower lip to bite on instead of her own. Our tongues kept fighting to stay in the other's mouth, but it was difficult due to the speed and the amount of force our kiss had escalated to. Teeth chatted, lips smacked, and hands grabbed onto any piece of the other's body we could get a hold of.

I had been dying to see her breasts all evening…well I've wanted to see them again for ten years, but the feeling had definitely increased within the past several hours. So I took advantage of the privacy window block and tinted windows, and reached my hand down the top of her dress and just pulled out one of her breasts. She didn't say anything, but a low moan and her back arching towards me, made it vibrantly clear what she wanted. So, I went for it.

I kissed down her neck and onto her chest, before moving down to her perfect nipple. And god, she was perfect. She moaned again as my tongue encircled it, making it harden in my lips. Her breathing hiked, but instead of just sitting there and letting me lick and nip at her, she pushed me back against the seat and climbed on my lap so she was straddling me. Her pelvis began grinding against me, as her lips reattached to mine.

I wanted her so fucking bad at that moment, and I did have condoms in my pocket, but after ten years apart, I didn't want to just fuck her in the back of a limo…._I could wait and fuck her in the back of a limo the next time we were in one._

But my desire to wait until we were in my bedroom, didn't stop me from kissing and touching her until we got there.

I pulled down her dress top so both breasts were exposed, and I pushed up her dress bottom so it was basically wrapped around her waist at that point. She kept grinding on my lap, and I helped her with the motions as my hands grasped tightly on her ass. I pushed and pulled as I continued to kiss down her neck and chest, basically anywhere I could reach in that position.

And just when the whole dry humping thing was about to become too much, forcing me to abandon my plan of waiting, we arrived in front of my apartment building. I kissed her breasts one more time before helping her pull her dress back up.

She took an extra minute to straighten everything out, before we got out of the limo, and walked hand in hand inside. When we got into the elevator however, it was back on. I pushed her back against the wall, and lifted her up so her legs were wrapped around my waist, where they locked into place. Our kiss was frenzied as we tried to impatiently devour each other's lips, and even the short trip to the top floor, took far too long.

When the door finally opened, I didn't put her down, I just carried her in that exact position all the way through my apartment door, and straight into my bedroom.

I paused when we got to the bed though; I really didn't want to put her down gently, because then she'd just stay locked around me, and that wouldn't allow for clothing removal, so instead, I just threw her down like a doll.

She bounced upon landing, and started giggling. "Jerk," she muttered playfully, but when I just stood there for a moment enjoying the view, her impatience grew. "Get over here," she commanded while getting up on her knees, and pulling me towards her by a handful of my shirt.

"I don't want to fuck you," I murmured.

She smiled, completely understanding what I was saying. "Ok, we'll just save that for later then."

God, I loved her.

She was still on her knees on the bed, and I was standing in front of her, so I reached around to unzip her dress in the back, and she smiled as the fabric fell away from her body.

I resumed kissing her shoulders and chest, but she pushed me away gently.

"Why Mr. Masen, you have far too much clothes on," she said with an impassive look on her face.

Despite her serious expression, I smiled widely. "Well, we're going to have to fix that now, aren't we."

She nodded, and then pushed my over-shirt off my shoulders, and then lifted my T over my head. She ran her fingers down my bare ribs, before wrapping her arms around me and grabbing a hold of the skin on my back. And then she kissed my chest, right on top of my scars. She looked up at me for any signs of distress on my part, but I knew she wouldn't find any. She took ownership of my body a long time ago, and I'd never be uncomfortable of her touching what was rightfully hers.

She kissed my scars one more time each, and then moved upwards and held me tightly, chest to chest. I held her back so that there was absolutely no space between us, and we stayed in that position for awhile, just feeling sincere gratitude for being together again after so long apart. But the serenely still moment soon passed, as she began to slowly kiss my neck.

I let a moan escape after she pulled away just far enough to unbutton my pants and pull them down, before she grabbed a hold of my hardness and began stroking.

_How the hell did I live without her for so long?_

"Bella," I breathed out her name, and had a brief moment of insanity as I wondered if it was all really happening, or if I was just dreaming her up. Either way, I didn't really care right then, as long as she didn't disappear on me.

She scooted back on the bed, so I followed her, kicking off my pants the rest of the way as I went. All that was left between us, was her panties, but those soon were removed as well. But before I crashed back into her, I grabbed my pants as quickly as I was capable of, and pulled out a condom.

"Where did you get that one?" Bella asked with a giggle.

I smiled. "From someone who would have nothing to gain by messing with it," I said as I put it on.

I climbed back up to her, and she opened her legs to let me between them. We looked deep into each other's eyes, as she caressed her hand down the side of my face. Neither of us voiced our affections, but we didn't have to; the feeling was definitely passing through us as we stared at each other intensely.

I lowered my head, so I could kiss her passionately, and very slowly, I pushed inside her. She tensed when I entered her body, as if it were for the very first time, but she quickly relaxed into me as I began to gently pump in and out of her. I kissed her one more time, before resting my forehead against hers, and just watched her beautiful face as the surreal moment devoured all of my senses.

It was a good thing we had already messed around earlier, and I had already came once that night, because otherwise, it surely would have ended far too soon. It had been an extremely long time for me, and that combined with the severity of the emotions between us, definitely made it hard to keep going for long.

Apparently however, she felt the same way because the next thing I knew, her internal walls were clamping around me, and she grabbed a hold of anything she could find to brace herself. She was still so amazingly tight, but with the added massaging pressure of her climax, I quickly lost control of myself as well, and erupted into her.

I stayed inside her for awhile longer, just basking in her amazing presence while holding her with everything I had in me. She was mine, there was no doubt about it, and there was nothing that could ever come between us again. I was sure of it.

But after taking time to fully enjoy the gravity of the moment, we were ready for round two.

"Can I fuck you now?" I asked quietly her with a devious grin.

"Please," she said with a giggle.

So that's exactly what I did. It was hard and intense as I pounded into her like there was no tomorrow, and when it was over, she climbed on top of me and took control as we did it again. But after going from nothing for so long, to doing it so much, I was seriously fucking tired, we both were and we quickly fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next thing I knew, it was in the middle of the afternoon the day after.

"What was that?" Bella asked with a laugh as a loud rumble filled the room.

"My stomach," I said and then kissed her bare shoulder tenderly, before getting up and stretching. "I'm going to go make breakfast."

"More like lunch!" she called after me.

I called over Carmen's house, and was happy to hear that Carlie was having a blast, so Carmen suggested she stay another night. - _Yeah, she was the best fucking manager ever._

"Hey, shouldn't we go get Carlie?" Bella asked as she came out of the bedroom.

"I just talked to Carmen and she asked if Carlie could stay another night there," I told her.

Bella raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Carmen asked, or you did?"

I laughed. "It was a mutual decision."

She smiled, and then came over to kiss me.

I made some eggs, we drank some juice, and then we stripped our clothes off again, and resumed right where we left off. We had sex all over the apartment, any and every way we could think of. On the floor, against the wall, the counter, the couch, in the shower. It was _abso-fucking-lutely_ nirvana. Every moment better than the last. When we were tired, we slept, when we were hungry, we ate, but every moment that we could possibly be touching in some way, we were.

The sun set again, and came back up in the morning, but that's when I realized that our reunion time was over. But instead of being upset about that fact, I was actually thrilled. The past nights were truly unrealistically amazing, but I couldn't wait to let our lives unfold and see how we'd adapt into a more normal routine.

"I think I'm out of coffee," I told her after we were done washing each other in the shower. "Do you mind if I just run out and get some real quick?"

"Of course not," she said while kissing my chest. "I guess it's time to get back to the real world, huh?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," I said halfheartedly. I finished getting dressed, and then took off towards the corner Starbucks. I thought about just getting some grinds and making my own at home, but I really didn't want it to take that long; I was in serious need for a caffeine fix. But, of course, the place was packed.

"Oh my god, you're that guy…you're that Edward Masen guy," some chick there said to me.

Fuck! Of all the times to get recognized, I sure as hell didn't feel like being stopped right then.

"Oh, yeah, I get mistaken for him all the time," I said with an annoyed laugh before walking away.

"No, you're really him," the girl insisted as she followed me.

Fuck it all to hell!

"Ok, yeah it's me," I admitted.

"Oh my god, I love you!….Will you sign my," she looked around for something I could sign, and she settled for her shirt…which she was currently wearing.

"Uh…ok," I said while taking the pen she pulled out from her bag.

But me signing her shirt drew more attention, and before I knew it, I had a fucking crowd waiting for me to sign shit.

Fifty six minutes later, I was finally able to leave that place and head home. Of course, I forgot the fucking coffee, so I ended up just running into a store for grinds after all.

I was already on edge from being bombarded by people who'd just end up selling their shit on eBay, so when I finally got home to find the apartment strangely quiet, I suddenly became extremely apprehensive.

"Bella?" I said as I looked around for her.

"Yeah, in here!" she called out to me in a strange tone.

I turned the corner into the room she had been sharing with Rapunzel, and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked as my heart began to race. She had her bag open on the bed and was filing it up with all of her things, and I seriously felt like I was just punched in the gut.

"I've been trying to tell you for the last couple days, but I just never got the chance," she said hesitantly. "I hope you don't mind, but I looked in your cell contacts for Carmen's number, and I called her just a few minutes ago to let her know that I'm coming to pick Carlie up."

"Why?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Edward, we have to get back. This has been amazing…but like you said, it's not real. None of this is real life, and there are things we need to get back to in Washington," she said quickly. It was as if she thought that just spitting it out would be easier, like it were nothing more than ripping off a band aid; but this sting was a hell of a lot worse, and I didn't understand what the fuck was happening.

"Wait, what? What are you saying?" I asked in almost a panic, refusing to believe what she was obviously doing.

She bit her bottom lip, the very same lip that I had been biting just a few hours earlier, and she took a deep breath. "I called the airport. Carlie and I are leaving in a few hours… We just need to bet back reality."

The shock of her sudden change in mood quickly wore off, and it was replaced by boiling anger.

"This is reality; this is my fucking life, Bella. Just because it's not what you're used to, that doesn't mean it can't be your life too," I said heatedly.

"But it's not, Edward, and I need to go back. I have a job, an apartment, and Carlie is supposed to be starting school soon with all her friends. We have lives there, and we can't just stay here indefinitely and forget about everything else," she tried reasoning. Her tone was defensive in response to my anger, but that just pissed me off even more.

I couldn't believe that she just decided this seemingly out of the blue, without even talking to me about it first. I knew she'd have to go back to visit eventually, but I sure as hell wasn't expecting to walk in there to find her almost finished packing, so she could leave that day with no immediate plans on returning. Didn't our time together mean anything to her; or was she just using me for sex because she had already sinned with me once, so it wouldn't hurt to do it again?

Then I thought about her fiancé back in Washington. He had been a constant ominous cloud hovering in the distance the entire time she was there, but since we made love, I hadn't thought about him once, but I guess it was different for her. Perhaps Alice and Rapunzel's view on her relationship with the guy was wrong. Perhaps Bella did love him, but she didn't want to have an unholy union with him so she took out her sexual aggressions on me.

Well, fuck her!

"No. You just want to get back to Washington to be with your fiancé, don't you?" I said coldly.

"Its…that's not…I can't just be here with you, when…" she stumbled, at a loss for words. I was right, and she didn't know how to deny it.

"What the fuck, Bella?" I spat. "How the hell can you just fuck around with me, and then go back to Mr. Fucking Perfect?"

I could feel the rage building inside me, and I was a slave to it. Who the fuck did she think she was anyway; coming all the way out here, giving me a taste of my life back, and then just taking it all away. No, I wouldn't let her do it. There was no way in hell she was leaving me _again_. The first time she left, I was a broken mess, but this time, I was just infuriated and unwilling to give up without a fight.

"It's not like that, Edward; that's not what I meant. But it's a fact that I'm engaged to someone else, and I owe it to him to…"

"No, fuck that shit. You're not going anywhere!" I exploded. I remembered the feeling I was having, I used to get it a lot as a teen, but it was something that I hadn't experienced since then. I had been dead for over a decade, and now that I was able to live for a short time, all of my emotions had come back as well, even the blind rage.

"Calm down so I can talk to you," Bella said sternly.

But I couldn't calm down. I couldn't even control what I was doing.

"I'm just going there so I can…"

"Did you fucking hear me? You're not going anywhere!" I yelled. I grabbed handfuls of her clothes out of her bag, and threw them across the room.

"Edward, you need to get a hold of yourself!" she shouted.

"Don't you fucking tell me what I NEED TO DO!"

I couldn't see straight, the anger was too much. I had no idea how it happened, but the next thing I knew, I had her against the wall with an arm on each side of her face.

"You belong to me! YOU. ARE. NOT. GOING. TO. LEAVE. ME!" I yelled while punching the wall between each word.

Bella didn't respond, she just stared at me and waited for my fit to be over. But her lack of a response was exactly what caused me to shake myself awake from the trance I was in. I dropped my fists from the wall, absolutely horrified at myself.

"Bella…I…I'm sorry. I wasn't going to hurt you. I swear," I said no louder than a whisper. What the fuck just came over me? It was fucking disgusting, beyond appalling, and I was completely aghast by the entire event.

"I'm not afraid of you, Edward," she said strongly. "But if you want to fight me, then I'll fight. If you want to give into the excuse that you can't help yourself because of your past, then fine. But I won't be a part of that. Go and get yourself help!" she said before grabbing her things again, and stuffing them back into her bag. She grabbed the rest of her stuff, and the things of Rapunzel's left lying around, before storming out of the door.

I couldn't move. I just stood there feeling completely hallow as I was entirely consumed with self hatred.

How the hell could I do that to her? I had been running from my father's fatal legacy for so long, but it seems the further I went, the easier it was able to overtake me. Numbing myself all those years had done nothing to my anger, except repress it.

I was alone again, and that's the way it should be; I had no one to blame but myself. It all happened so fast, but to be honest, I wasn't really surprised. What goes up always comes back down, and with me, that usually meant crashing deep into the ground like an asteroid impact on earth. But unlike before, I couldn't just drown myself in the depths of my inner demons, I had responsibilities greater than that. Even if Bella couldn't forgive me or ever truly love me again, I needed to try to fix it for Carlie's sake. Bella was right, I needed help….

* * *

><p><strong>****End Note: I DO NOT CONDON OR EXCUSE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE! <strong>_**Like soldiers with post traumatic stress disorder, Edward needs some serious help. And I would never tell a woman to stay with a man who is violent, but this is just a story, and there were some extenuating circumstances here. He didn't actually hurt her, and he will definitely be getting help.**_

****Ok, I know the drama is getting a little ridiculously soapy at this point, BUT he never did deal with his daddy anger issues….and people love a good celebrity breakdown, right? Lol. – **_**Besides, it's not much different than the real 'Twilight'. I mean, how many times can Bella's life be in danger by sparkly vampires? It's all farfetched, so please just try not to take anything on FF so seriously. It's an **_**ESCAPE **_**from reality, not a work of depressing nonfiction. **_

*Spoiler* the story is still almost over; Edward may have misunderstood Bella's leaving, and didn't really give her a chance to explain. I promise, this won't be some long drawn out five chapter's worth of woe.

**Please Review!**


	24. Six Weeks

**Unintended**

~Chapter 24 – _Six Weeks_~

I stood there like a fucking statue for an immeasurable amount of time. I gave myself that time to breathe and collect my thoughts, but I couldn't think of anything other than the look on Bella's face as I punched the wall beside her head – _why wasn't she scared?_

I could have completely lost it and killed her right then and there, but she hardly even flinched. Why?

But I couldn't stay there, I needed to be in action. Even though I was sure I had lost Bella forever, I still needed to better myself for my daughter, I needed to be there for her in any way I could.

So I grabbed my cell, and called the one person who I knew could help me.

Carlisle.

He didn't even hesitate, I said I needed him, and he told me that he was on the next flight out to come get me. I paid for a private jet to bring him however, because I didn't want him to have to hang around until the next commercial flight; so for the next six hours, I sat on the floor in my living room, and stared blankly at the wall until he arrived.

"Edward?" I heard Carlisle's voice as he entered my apartment.

I tried to call out to tell him where I was, but my voice wouldn't come out loud enough for him to hear. Thankfully, he found me easy enough, and he sat beside me silently for several long minutes.

"Thanks for coming," I said emotionlessly.

"You're my son. I'll always come for you," he stated.

I shook my head. "Maybe you won't after you hear what I did," I said without looking at him. I realized then that I probably should have told him before hand, just in case my horrible act made him never want to speak to me again. It wasn't fair that I forced him all the way across the country, and then bombard him with all my shit. But it was too late now, he was there, and he was waiting for me to explain.

"Edward, there is nothing you can do, to make me turn my back on you," he said intensely.

"Did you feel that way about my father too?" I asked bitterly. "If he didn't kill himself, but still murdered my mother and sister, would you still care?"

Carlisle took a heavy uneven breath, and thought about my question before answering. "Edward, what you have to understand about your father, is that…his crime against your family, wasn't his first offense."

"I've done a lot of horrible shit," I argued.

"No…it's completely different." Carlisle looked like he more to say, but he stopped himself and changed the subject. "Edward, what happened with Bella?" he asked me concerned.

I hadn't told him anything over the phone, except for the fact that Bella and I had argued and she headed back to Washington…so I took the time to tell him everything then.

Carlisle listened, and even when I told him about the way I had Bella pinned against the wall while I punched besides her head, he still just listened.

"I just don't know what to do," I finally said.

"If you're serious about wanting to get help…Dr. Amun now works at New Haven in Seattle, and I think he could really help you there."

"New Haven…like the psych ward?" I asked surprised.

"It's an intensive six week therapy program for all different severity levels of mental issues," he explained quickly. "Where you would be is a relaxed environment, therapy session throughout the day, one on one and group sessions…"

"Wait…group sessions? Like what…they make people hold hands and sing Kumbaya?"

"No, Edward. it's a place to discuss your issues in a safe setting, with people who have gone through similar ordeals."

"So…it's like rehab?" I asked.

"Yes, it's emotional rehab."

"And I have to live there?"

"It's recommended. After the six weeks, you'll become an outpatient of sorts, and you'll probably continue with a therapist for the rest of your life. But Edward, if this helps you, think of how amazing your life can be."

"Bella is marrying that other guy," I said while shaking my head at his comment.

"Get better, for you. Don't do it for Bella, or even for Carlie. Do it because you want to be better."

I sure as hell didn't want to go that that place. I had known so many people in my business that checked into rehab for a few weeks, and reemerged better for a short time, only to lose it again. I had never had a problem with drugs or booze since becoming famous, so I never had to worry about the rehab thing. But I would do it, I would do anything to get better. I wanted to be a whole person again for my daughter…and for myself. I was tired of either living in anger and fear, or not living at all. It was time to try something, anything.

So, after Carlisle had spent half the day flying to me, he spent the rest to bring me back to Washington. I felt horrible about it, but I pretty much felt horrible about everything during that time.

Believe it or not, I actually spent most of the flight sleeping. Anger and hating oneself were tiring emotions, and I was absolutely beat. But even more than that, the fact that I had been making love to Bella just several hours before, and now I was on my way to a psych ward, was fucking traumatic.

When we landed, Carlisle called Esme to tell her what was going on, so I followed his lead and pulled out my cell to call Jasper, but Carlisle quickly grabbed the phone from me.

"Who is so important that you need to talk to them right this minute?" he asked me. "I only called Esme because she's been worried sick."

"I was just calling Jasper. I still have obligations, and I need to figure out a way to get out of them without getting my band sued," I said sourly.

"I'll handle it," Carlisle said unexpectedly.

"You'll handle my record label?" I asked with a humorless laugh.

"Yes. Have a little faith in me, son; I may have some negotiating skills that you don't know of," he said jokingly, but was serious. "You don't need to worry about that stuff right now. All I want you worrying about, is you."

"I need to know if Bella was able to pick up Carlie, and they're ok," I said quickly.

"Edward, Bella has been taking care of that little girl alone for ten years now. Trust her to continue to do just that."

I nodded.

When we finally arrived at New Haven, they were already expecting us. Carlisle must have called my old therapist from the airport, because he was there outside to greet us.

"Edward, it's been a long time," Dr. Amun said with his hand outstretched in front of him.

So I shook his hand, and agreed. "Yeah, it has. Thanks for making a place for me here on such a short notice."

I was shown to where I'd be staying, and actually, it was quite nice. The entire grounds of the place was rather peaceful with lush gardens, chirping birds, and babbling brooks, which put me more at ease. But that calmness didn't last for long, because the therapy sessions began right away.

**WEEK 1**

It started out slowly, with me just discussing the last ten years since the last time I saw Dr. Amun. We rehashed some of our old discussions, and talked about what had changed. But more than anything, I spent that week just listening. I had a group crash course in anger management, in which Dr. Amun gave me, and several others, tips and tools to deal with anger. He spoke of that familiar feeling where the rage builds in a way that's blinding, and what we should do if or when that occurs.

I didn't really speak to anyone there, and no one paid attention to me either. Everyone was there for their own well being, not to socialize or inquire about anything outside the confines of the hospital grounds.

It was actually good that I was back with Dr. Amun, because he already knew my past and the basis of what happened to me, and I was grateful for that. Having to start from scratch would have been extremely difficult, and being there was hard enough.

But all too soon, Dr. Amun moved me to more intense topics…

**WEEK 2 **

Dr. Amun wanted me to tell him about the night my father snapped. I had never gone into detail about that before with anyone but Bella, but I could definitely understand why it was important to get it all out. For that entire week, we discussed every aspect of the night. There wasn't a detail that we left out, but it was also one of my most intensely furious weeks I had ever experienced. It was reliving that night, over and over in concentrated doses.

I ended up breaking a lot of stuff in Dr. Amun's office, but he never even batted an eye at my outbursts. I also was introduced to kick boxing during that time. It was a way to expel the anger physically, without the risk of hurting innocent bystanders. On top of the intense topic of discussion with Dr. Amun, and the kick boxing classes, I still had to attend the anger management course.

Every week, they added more and more to my plate, which resulted in more stress. But I quickly realized that was the point; they wanted to put me under pressure, so that when it was time to leave there and be on my own again, I could be prepared and handle anything to come.

**WEEK 3**

I was told I wouldn't be able to have any visitors due to the nature of the program I was in, but I was led out to the garden one day, and was completely flabbergasted to see Bella there.

I just stared at her for a few minutes, and she stared back.

"What are you doing here?" I asked slightly bitter. With the types of intense sessions I was having, I was living in a constant cloud of anger, and her being there just added to it…and yet again, I understood. More and more stress, and that was the point. If I could deal with it there, then it would definitely help later.

"Carlisle told me you were here, and I wanted to come sooner, but they wouldn't let me until now," Bella said softly.

"Well, I'm sure your fiancé wasn't too thrilled about the idea of you coming back around me after what happened in New York," I said coldly.

She bit her bottom lip. "No…he wasn't happy about what happened in New York, but he forgave me," she said taking me aback.

I nodded. "Only Mr. Perfect could forgive their fiancé for screwing around on him," I said, mostly to myself.

"Yeah well, he's a good man," she said with a deep breath.

"Bella, why the hell are you here?" I asked irritated, but then I thought about Rapunzel. "Is it Carlie, is she ok?" I asked in a panic.

"She's fine," Bella said quickly. "She misses you, but I promised you'd be back soon."

"Why the hell would you promise that? I have no idea if any of this shit will help me, and I sure as hell don't want her around me if I can't control myself."

"But, you can," she said doubtlessly. "You're here; you're getting help, which just proves that you have it in you to get better."

"Why are you here?" I asked her again.

"Because I love you," she said abruptly.

I just stared at her dumbfounded, and then of course, I blew up. "What the fuck, Bella? After everything that's happened, after you decided to go back to your perfect inhumanly forgiving fiancé, and after I hurt you the way that I did…why the fuck would you say that shit to me, what the hell is wrong with you?"

I was seriously starting to think she was as crazy as I was, but then she explained.

"I wasn't leaving you to go back to him, I was leaving to end things with him."

_Huh?_

"Edward, I have always loved you…since we were kids. You were the only one who didn't laugh at me for my strange oddities I had back then. I was this strange lonely kid, and you were the only one who ever paid any attention to me. When your family was…taken from you, I wanted nothing more than to be there for you the way you were always there for me, but you pushed me and everyone else away, and I always understood that….so I waited. I knew that someday, you'd be ready to let people back in, and I'd be there for you. So, when you started talking to me again in high school, I thought that perhaps you were finally ready."

"I destroyed your life," I told her strongly. She was obviously missing that point, and I was trying to get it through her thick stubborn head.

"No, you didn't. As much as it hurt sometimes, I knew you were hurting just as much, if not more. Even after learning about the bet, I knew that somewhere, you were still in there, fighting like hell to keep yourself hidden from the world. But every once in awhile, you'd let your guard down, and I'd see you; the real you, the one who I was always in love with. So I waited…always waiting. But I did get angry at times, and I'd lose my way and push you further away…. Edward, I'm not perfect, and sometimes I go about things the wrong way. I've even been seeing a therapist, and I'm working on it."

"You are?" I asked in disbelief.

"The whole adoption thing when I was pregnant, was just ridiculous. And it was just as much about my issues as yours and ours together. I had so many insecurities about being a mother after being raised without one myself, and I got scared….And then when we reconnected in New York, it was something that I wasn't exactly expecting. I waited for you to come back for ten years, and then I just…gave up and agreed to marry a guy who I knew I'd never really love, because it was easier. But you were back in my life, and I knew I needed to be with you…" she stopped and looked away.

"What?" I asked frustrated by her pause.

"Edward, I wanted you so badly…even before we went to that club. I told Alice that I needed to leave, because I knew...after only spending a day with you, that it just wasn't fair to Jacob. He is one of the nicest people I had ever met, and he deserves to be loved…which was something I could never do. Even if you and I were to never get back together, I still couldn't hurt him like that."

"Why didn't you just tell me all this before?" I asked feeling even more angry than before. I should have been happy that she loved me, but I was just pissed. So much shit could have been avoided if she had just been honest.

"I didn't know how you felt about me those first few days. You had this…fantasy life, and I didn't think you'd want someone as…average as me. We were living in two different worlds, mine was the PTA and soccer practices, yours was private jets and fancy restaurants. I just didn't know how to bridge that, so I resisted it."

"But," I urged her to continue.

"But, you asked me to go to the club with you, and I thought…" she shrugged. "Maybe there was a way to work it out."

"Why did you leave then?" I asked feeling like I was punched in the gut again. Our lack of communication had caused so much unnecessary shit. But I couldn't really blame her for it all; I should have been honest with her about my feelings as well, instead of trying to 'win' her back. We both fucked up…yet again, which probably proved that we shouldn't even be together. Two fucked up people had no right trying to make it, especially with a child in tow.

"I was leaving to end things with Jacob. I went about it the wrong way, but…Edward, we were so intense those couple of days. Talking about anything was hard when all we wanted to do was make love. Telling you that I needed to leave seemed next to impossible. I know that sounds like a copout, but truthfully, it was hard to think of anything when we were together like that, and when you left for a couple hours, I was finally able to have a clear thought. I knew I couldn't continue with you any longer knowing Jacob still thought I was going to marry him, and I couldn't break it off over the phone."

"Why the rush to get packed while I was gone?" I asked absently, not knowing how to feel at that point.

"Because if I didn't leave then, I knew we'd just end up right back in bed together, and I'd go back to not giving a shit about anything or anyone here in Washington. But we had lives here, I couldn't just continue to live with you in some fantasy there; if I wanted to make it real with you, I had to go back and handle things here. Not just with Jacob, but with Carlie's school, our apartment, her friends. I tried telling you, but you just didn't give me the chance….I realize what I should have done it all differently now, but I just never thought you would actually think my leaving meant I was going back to him. I thought you understood how I felt about you. But then the anger came back out of you, and I…just…didn't know what to do."

"You weren't scared," I stated, not understanding her reaction when our argument had become physical.

"I know you. I know that you'd never hurt me. You were just angry, and you needed to get control…and I needed to get control too, so I just left. I shouldn't have, I should have yelled back and forced you to listen to me, but…I made the wrong decision again, just like that adoption thing. I acted rash and screwed everything up, and I'm so sorry."

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back as I considered how to proceed…Despite doing things the wrong way, she didn't deserve how I reacted, and she had no idea the severity of my anger that day. No one should ever have to deal with that, especially from someone they love as much as she was claiming to love me…and I needed to make that very clear.

"Bella, nothing you did warranted my outburst." I swallowed hard, and turned away from her. I wasn't ready for that conversation, any of it, and I sure as hell wasn't ready to patch everything up and pretend everything was all better between us. It shouldn't have mattered if she was leaving me or not; we shouldn't have to live in fear of that type of response from me, and the fact that she was so positive that I would never hurt her, just proved that we needed to be apart. So, at that moment, I needed her to leave. "Thank you for coming, but we can't be together when I can't trust myself," I told her coldly, and then turned and walked back into the building.

I was _once again_ angry, but it was only at myself. People made mistakes, Bella was no different, but the things I had done were far worse than that. Bella was there, she was pouring her heart out to me and begging me with her eyes to understand, but I just couldn't get there. There was always something standing in our way, and until I fixed myself, those roadblocks would never move.

**WEEK 4**

The visit from Bella was a setback for me. She wanted me back, she said that she loved me, and the only thing that was stopping us from reaching that ultimate goal, was me. So I was beyond pissed.

Needless to say, I had even more anger management classes, more kickboxing, and even more therapy sessions.

_Week four fucking sucked!_

**Week 5**

But when the following week came, things finally changed; that was the week I had to face something that I never expected….

I went in for my normal one on one session with Dr. Amun, but this time, Carlisle was there, and he had something that he brought with him.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked confused.

"Carlisle isn't here for a social visit," Dr. Amun explained. "He has some information for you that will be beneficial for your recovery." The doctor turned to Carlisle, and gestured for him to begin.

"It's good to see you Edward, Dr. Amun said you're making progress," Carlisle said quickly. Apparently, since he was there only to give me whatever information he had, he wasn't supposed to say any casual pleasantries, so he just snuck that one in.

"I'm trying," I said honestly. I had no idea how I was doing overall, but no one could say that I wasn't trying.

"Carlisle, please," Dr. Amun urged him to continue, so Carlisle put what he brought out on the table in front of him. At first, I had no idea what any of it was, but then a distant memory sprouted up, which only confused me even more.

"That's your mistress?" I said abruptly causing Carlisle's face to distort in perplexity.

"You've seen this before?" Dr. Amun asked.

"Yeah, I was snooping around in Carlisle's office one day when I was seventeen, and I found the fake book full of this crap," I admitted. "But what does this have to do with me?" I asked confused, but then it came to me. "Oh, I get it. You want to prove that even good men can do the wrong thing sometimes…_right?_" I asked suddenly unsure.

"Well, that is true," Dr. Amun said. "Good men can do bad things sometimes, but that's actually the exact opposite of what this session is about."

"I don't understand?"

"Edward, this stuff isn't mine," Carlisle said unexpectedly. "It's your father's."

_What the fuck?_

"I looked up to your father when I knew him in college. I looked up to him even more when he eventually earned the chief of staff position at the hospital. He was my best friend…my brother, but there was something always a little off about him. He was a man of strong faith, or so I thought at the time, but he truly wasn't."

"What do you mean?" I asked even more baffled than before. My father was heavily involved with the church, so I didn't understand Carlisle saying he wasn't.

"He hid behind his faith. He would do things…immoral things, and he'd count on his religion to save him. He believed that it didn't matter what he did, as long as he went to church and asked for forgiveness. But Edward, he wasn't a good man."

Carlisle's words definitely took me aback. Everyone who ever knew my father, always spoke so highly of him and couldn't understand what would make him tragically turn on his family. They always told me that my hatred for the man was wrong, and I should have sympathy for his moment of insanity. It was actually a strange relief to hear someone as close to him as Carlisle was, say what I had always thought; my father wasn't the perfect guy that he pretended to be.

"What did he do?" I asked. Other than the affair, I knew there was a lot more shit that I had no idea of, so I wanted to know everything that Carlisle knew. I wanted to know exactly what kind of monster my father really was.

"I first noticed it in medical school. Usually, it takes time for people to learn to separate the person from the patient, but he never had any sympathy for any of them. I always thought of it as being beyond his years, extremely professional, but after awhile I started to doubt. When he married your mom, he pretended to be the perfect husband, but things were different behind closed doors. You were his pride and joy when you were born, but really, he was using you to keep your mother in his control….and then Bree came along..."

"What happened then?" I asked.

"Edward, I never wanted to tell you this, because you always refused to talk about your family so I had no idea how you felt about them…I didn't want to dampen your happier memories of your father, because he was dead, so what would be the point? But now I think it's important for you to know the entire truth….Bree, wasn't your mother's."

"What?" I asked confused.

"Bree's biological mother's name was Didyme," he said while holding up the picture of the young girl he brought with him, which had the love letter on the back. "She was a seventeen year old candy-stripper at the hospital. When she became pregnant, your father didn't even care. He had other indiscretions in the past that your mother knew of, so he just saw it as the same thing. He had an image to uphold, so he took the baby from the girl and forced your mother to pass her off as her own. Your mom, being the good woman she was, loved Bree as her own, but she never fully got over it. She tried to leave so many times, but he became abusive and always threatened to take you away from her, so she stayed."

What Carlisle was telling me was absolutely infuriating, and that all too familiar anger started boiling up again. "Why didn't you help her? How could you sit by and watch all that shit happening?" I shouted.

I half expected Dr. Amun to cut in and chide me for my anger, but he didn't. He just sat back and watched carefully.

"They hid it well, even from us. But Esme and your mother had become close, and two weeks before everything happened, your mother came over and told Esme everything. We already knew the truth about Bree, but your father claimed that it was a horrible mistake and that your mother had forgiven him…so we forgave him too. However, when your mother came over to talk to Esme about the physical and emotional abuse she was suffering by his hand, I wanted to confront him, but she begged me not to. She said her leaving had to be done carefully, otherwise he'd take you and Bree away from her for good. He was a powerful influential man, who had the police chief in his back pocket, so he could definitely pull it off."

I guess looking back on it, I didn't remember my mother being pregnant with Bree, but I didn't remember much from back then so I never questioned it. But hearing the truth was painful, and yet somehow, it felt strangely comforting at the same time, which I didn't understand.

"But she never got away," I said quietly.

"The night it happened, was the night she was going to leave while he was at work, and bring you and your sister to our house…but for whatever reason, he didn't work that night after all. Esme and I stayed up waiting for her, we would have gone there to help, but she said there were things she had to do on her own first. We waited for her to call, but the only call we got, was from the hospital the next morning saying we needed to get down there to be with you."

"Why did you keep all this stuff?" I asked absently. I was still processing what he was saying about my father, but I just wanted to understand everything.

"Back when I thought the affair was just a horrible mistake and that he still loved your mom, I was given this stuff to keep for Bree if she ever learned the truth and wanted to know where she came from. It was actually your mother who asked me to save it for her. She loved Bree enough to want to give her that gift if she ever wanted it."

"I don't understand, how did my father convince this woman to give up her baby?" I asked.

"He threatened her, and of course paid her off."

"Does she know…what happened to Bree?" I asked reluctantly.

"Yes. I tried contacting her right after it happened, but I couldn't find her anywhere. Then a few years ago, she came back looking for her, and I had to tell her then. It was one of the hardest conversations I ever had with a stranger, but…I'm glad she finally found out."

We were both quiet for awhile as I let it all sink in, but then I needed him to answer something. "Carlisle, why are you telling me this right now?"

"Because, you are not him. He didn't know what it was like to care about anyone but himself. He killed your mother and sister because your mother finally stood up to him, and he was afraid of the public opinion of his perfect family. He claimed to be a religious man, but he didn't live it…You, on the other hand, claimed to feel nothing, claimed to not care, but you cared very deeply and were scared of losing it. You asked me in New York why you were different than your father, and this is why. You were so scared of hurting the ones you love, that you've pushed that love away so many times….but we all make choices."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He chose to use a gun on all of you that night. And you chose to run away when things got too hard…But more importantly, you chose to stop when you were so close to hurting Bella in your apartment that day."

"I had her against a wall," I said incredulously. I didn't choose that, it just happened and I had no idea how I lost control like that.

"And you're all still here. She's alive, and so are you. The thing that terrifies you the most, isn't losing your family…it's losing your family by your hand," Carlisle told me intensely.

"That's true, and it always will be….So they walked away that time, but what's to stop me the next time I get pissed?"

"You will stop it. And I'm teaching you the tools to use for those very occasions," Dr. Amun jumped in. "Edward, that wasn't the beginning of your downfall into the darkness, it was the end. You had what you wanted, and you were terrified of losing it. But when you saw her leaving and you snapped, much like what happened with your parents, you woke up. You saw what was happening, and you recognized it before it had the chance of escalating. You won, Edward. You stared your darkest demon in the face, and you fought against it."

"You've always assumed that you would turn out just like your father did, so you allowed yourself to become an angry individual. But that has to stop now. Don't give yourself permission to relinquish control of your life. Make the choice," Carlisle said strongly.

I really had no idea how to respond to any of that, so I didn't. I just simply nodded, and went back to my room for the rest of the afternoon.

That night when I went to bed, something felt different. I fell asleep with Carlisle and Dr. Amun's words in my head, and it wasn't long until the dream set in, however, this was different than any before.

…..

_I walked onto the scene of my mother and sister lying dead in a pool of blood at my childhood home, nothing I hadn't dreamed about before, except this time, the room was shaking and a second Bree was standing with me, holding my hand. I had dreamed of Bree in a shaking room before, it was the dream that sent me back to Forks to discover that Bella was Rapunzel's mother, but it wasn't like this._

"_What's happening?" I asked Bree as I looked around the room. _

_Her hand was firmly in my grasp, and she looked around with me, but she wasn't scared. I looked at her calm face, and then back down at her double lying with our mother. "Why are there two of you?" I asked confused._

_She shook her head, and pointed at the bodies._

_I looked down at them again, and jumped back as my heart leapt out of my chest. It wasn't her with my mother lying there dead, it was Rapunzel and Bella. _

"_No," I said breathlessly._

_I looked down at Bree's hand that I had been holding, except she wasn't there anymore, her tiny hand was replaced by the gun that killed my family. _

"_No!" I cried out. "God, please no."_

_Bree suddenly appeared in front of me again as the shaking escalated, but Bella and Rapunzel were gone. Just when I was about to lose my mind entirely, Bree brought her hand up to her lips, and hushed me._

"_It's time to let go now, Edward," she said softly._

"_How? I can't let go. Bree, bring them back," I said hysterically._

"_I can't. Not until you hear what I have to say," she said calmly._

"_Ok, fine, I'll do anything. Just please bring them back," I begged as I looked desperately at the empty spot where they had once lied. _

"_Edward, look at me," she insisted_

"_What?"_

"_You didn't fail me, Edward. I didn't die because of you," she said unexpectedly._

_Somewhere in my rational mind I knew I was dreaming, especially because Bree was six when she died, and would in no way be able to comprehend such complex topics, but in that moment, she was exactly who I needed to be talking to regardless._

"_I should have fought harder for you," I said heavily. "I should have saved you."_

"_You couldn't have, but Edward, I'm ok. I live in you, and I live in her," she said as she turned and looked out the window. I walked over to her, and peered out as well to see what she was seeing. _

_My breath caught, and I smiled as a tear dripped down my face. It was Rapunzel. She was playing happily with the sun shining brightly in her hair; I could even hear her laughter carrying through the thick shaking walls of the room I was in._

_I knew I had to get to her, but I was stuck inside the dark room, with no way out._

"_Carlie!" I yelled, but she didn't hear me. Bella was with her then, and even though Rapunzel couldn't see or hear me, Bella turned and looked right at me._

"_Bella," I whispered. She reached her hand out towards me, and just held it there, waiting._

"_Edward, look at me!" Bree demanded, so I reluctantly tore my eyes away from Bella, and turned towards her._

"_How do I get out?" I asked anxiously._

"_I'm ok," Bree repeated. "It's not your fault. You are not him, and you never will be. Let go Edward, let us all go before you lose everything else that matters. Everyone makes choices, daddy chose to end things the way he did…what will your choice be?"_

_I stared at her for a long moment as I thought about what she was saying. It echoed the words that Carlisle had just spoken to me that day, but for some reason, it meant more coming from her. She was right, they both were. Life was made up of a million little choices, some that can destroy lives, and others that can save them._

_And then, as significant as the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the shaking walls of the dark room that surrounded us….came crashing to the ground. _

_The sky was dark from the dust cloud that resulted in the downfall, but out of the dust, came light._

_It was Bree, and she was standing there like a beacon from heaven, and she was smiling._

"_I knew you could do it," she said proudly. "Now go to them…go and live for both of us."_

"_For all of us," my mother said, suddenly appearing next to Bree. They were smiling and holding each other, and for the first time since the night they were taken from me, I finally knew everything was going to be ok. _

"_I love you," I said to my mother and sister._

"_We love you too, always," my mother said as they both became translucent. I could still feel them there with me, but they weren't the forefront anymore. All I could see, all that mattered, was Bella and Carlie, waiting for me to join them._

_Carlie still saw nothing but the butterfly she was chasing, the essence of pure unspoiled innocence, and everything good in the world; everything good I had inside of me to give, was all embodied in that little girl. But Bella remained steadfast, with her hand outstretched to me. She was my rock, the only person who knew me inside and out, who loved me despite seeing the darkest part of me. She was the one who would always be there. Long after everyone else was gone, busy in their own lives, Bella would be at my side. She was my soul, and I knew that all I had to do to get my life back once and for all, was take her hand._

_I took a deep breath, and placed my hand in hers and was immediately overcome by the warmth that only she could give. She wove her fingers between mine, and smiled._

"_Welcome home," Bella said full of love and devotion….._

And then, I woke up.

**WEEK 6**

Week six was the hardest, but yet the most calm week I had there. The walls had come crashing down, and I was left feeling lighter than I ever remembered before. It wasn't a cure-all and I knew I still had a lifetime's worth of work still ahead of me, but I finally had hope. I could trust myself, I was confident in that fact. I knew my family would never be in danger from me; I had a choice, and I chose to not let my past ruin my future.

But since that monumental realization, all I wanted to do was get out of there and beg Bella for forgiveness, and swear to her that things would be different. But that's what made that week so hard. I wanted to be back with her, back home with my family immediately, but I had to wait it out. I had to finish my time there.

The week rolled on agonizingly slow, but no matter how anxious I was for my reunion with Bella, I wasn't worried. I needed to grovel, I needed to spend the rest of my life making it all up to her, but I didn't have a doubt that she would give me that chance.

Bella would always be there for me, despite everything else, through all of life's uncertainties, that was one fact that I was sure of. I could push and push, and she'd just push back, but I swore right then, that I'd never give her another reason to. Our pushing was all in the past, a not so distant memory, and there was nothing left to do but pull.

* * *

><p><strong>***Run Edward, go get them! <strong>

Was that whole chapter cheesy or what? LOL

*The dream sequence was inspired by **DreamofRob10**– thank you so much for the help!

**Please Review!**


	25. On My Knees

**Unintended**

A/N: Cheesiness ensues! LOL

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><p>~Chapter 25 ~<p>

"_On my knees, I'll ask,  
>Last chance for one last dance.<br>'Cause with you, I'd withstand,  
>All of hell to hold your hand"<em>  
>~Nickelback ('Far Away')<p>

Finally, my six weeks was over, and it was time to start living again. We had a plan though, Dr. Amun wanted to meet with me twice a week for the first three months, and then reduce it from there to once a week, then twice a month, and eventually settle on once a month indefinitely. It was a plan that I could handle, and when I was in New York, he said we could either Skype, or he could recommend someone out there to help. But Skyping definitely seemed like the right solution, I sure as hell didn't want to start at the beginning with some other guy.

Before I was officially released however, I was asked to attend a departing hour long session, which didn't begin until six pm that evening. Carlisle came to pick me up afterwards, and with a two and a half hour car ride still ahead of us, I figured it would be too late to stop in Port Angles to see Bella and Carlie; so unfortunately, I'd have to wait again to see them. But I wouldn't let it get me down; it was still a good moment.

"So, how do you feel?" Carlisle asked me as he drove onto the freeway.

"Uh…good," I said honestly. "Thanks…for helping me with everything," I told him sincerely.

"You're welcome," he responded emotionally.

We didn't speak much on the car ride, but it wasn't out of anger or even fear; I just had so many things rushing around in my head, and voicing any of it seemed next to impossible at the moment.

But when he got off the freeway, I was too confused to not speak up.

"Carlisle, where are we going?" I asked.

"Oh…I just assumed you'd want to go to Bella's," he said unexpectedly.

"It's almost ten o'clock…Carlie is probably sleeping," I said as my nerves began to rise.

"Well, I'm sure Bella is still up."

"Does she know I've been released?" I asked anxiously.

"Well, she knows it's either tonight or tomorrow. I haven't talked to her much about any of this, I figured you deserved your privacy and if you wanted her to know, you'd tell her yourself," Carlisle explained. "Just let me know what you want to do? I can take you back home with me, or you can try Bella."

The thought of waiting another several hours to see my girls, _when there was a chance that I didn't have to_, seemed ridiculous. I wanted to be with them immediately, but I just wasn't sure how Bella would react. I knew she would give me another chance eventually, but trying to hash it all out that late hour with Rapunzel sleeping in the next room, might be difficult to say the least…. But in the end, my desire to see them won over every insecurity I was feeling.

So, I had Carlisle take me to Bella's, but asked that he wait in the parking lot for ten minutes before heading home, just in case Bella wanted me to leave.

"I'll be here," Carlisle said as he pulled up to her apartment parking lot. "And Edward…call me at any time, day or night, and I'll come right back to get you," he said intensely.

"Thank you, Carlisle. You'll never know how much you've helped me through all of this. I have no idea how I would have made it through that first day without you," I said honestly.

He smiled. "I'm proud of you son, you've worked hard, and no one could have done that for you, except you." With that, he gestured for me to go, so I did.

I had only been to Bella's apartment once, but I remembered exactly where it was at. I took a deep breath, and then knocked lightly. I waited for a minute, but she didn't answer, so I knocked a little louder, and then I saw a light flicker on through the window.

Another deep breath.

When the door opened however, I felt the anger boil up once again….Bella didn't answer the door, it was a man.

As much as I wanted to explode and release all my anger, I had a choice. I didn't have to lash out and lose control. It was my fault after all. I was wrong, Bella couldn't wait around for me forever, especially after I had pushed her away _yet again_…but that didn't stop me from wanting to talk to her…at the very least, go in and kiss my daughter while she slept.

"Jacob?" I asked the man.

"My friends call me Jac, how can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Uh…I was just hoping to come in for a bit…I know it's late, but…"

"Edward Masen?" he asked with a strange tone after the realization of my identity hit him.

"Uh…yeah. I know this is strange, but if we're going to..."

"This isn't strange at all. I always knew you'd show up eventually," he said before moving to the side and letting me in.

"So…" I said uncomfortably while I looked around the apartment. Bella wasn't anywhere, and everything looked like it was redecorated….with beer décor….uhh?

"Here, let me show you something," Jac said excitedly. He ran out of the room, and came back quickly with a box full of…._oh fuck!_

"When I wrote into the Ellen DeGeneres show saying that I was your number one fan, I just knew she would set this all up for me. Ellen always grants people's greatest wish," he said emotionally.

_Oh, god help me._

"Uh…wow…thanks," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"I knew you were originally from around here, so I just loved you even more. You are my idol!"

"Um…"

He began pulling out posters and magazine clippings of me from his box, so I did the only thing I could do…I signed them. He set up his camera so we could take a picture together, so I just went with it. The guy was odd, and probably crazy, but he seemed harmless enough. After fifteen minutes with him, I smiled and said I needed to leave, and thankfully, he let me.

Obviously, I got the wrong apartment, but if that freak knew my daughter lived in the same building as him, it could possibly become an issue; so regardless of my and Bella's future relationship status, I would have to insist that they move. I felt bad about it, but it was for their own good.

I looked at the abundance of doors down the hall, and suddenly felt lost…not emotionally, but literally. I had no idea where their apartment was and I knew Carlisle was probably gone by then, so I took a chance and knocked on another door.

"Can I help you?" a little old woman asked.

"Uh, sorry to bother you, but I'm a little lost. Do you know the Swans?" I asked.

"Bella Swan?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking for her apartment."

"You're on the wrong floor honey. Just go up one, her number is C15."

"Uh, thanks," I said before turning away, but of course it couldn't be that easy, and she called after me.

"Are you that child's father?"

I sighed and turned back to her. "Yes ma'am."

"She looks just like you," she said with a smile and then wiggled her finger so I would step closer to her, so I did. And then she smacked my on the side of the head. "Get your ass to the alter! It aint right for a woman to be unwed with a child like that. You better make an honest woman of her, or you'll have to answer to me," she said sternly.

I nodded, and to be honest, I was a little terrified. What the hell kind of neighbors did Bella have?

I was about to take the elevator up, but then I thought better of it. Chances were, I'd end up getting stuck in there and no one would notice for days, so I took the stairs.

Even though the woman had told me that Bella lived at C15, and I found that door easy enough, I was still a little uneasy about knocking. The woman could have been senile for all I knew.

But there was no turning back, so I knocked lightly and waited. Like with the first apartment I went to that evening, the light in the window came on, followed by ruffling of the curtains, and then the door slowly opened.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I locked eyes with Bella, but it didn't last long because then the nerves came back full force.

"Hi," she said softly. Because of the late hour, she was wearing PJs, _which actually looked too big for her_, and her hair was in a messy pony tail. But, she was the most beautiful I had ever seen her…or anyone, for that matter.

"Am I too late?" I murmured. Although it wasn't intended, I definitely knew there could be a couple different meanings to my question. And to be honest, I wasn't really sure which one I meant at the time… 'Late', having to do with the hour, or 'late' having to do with us having another chance at a relationship.

"It's never too late," she said quietly…her answer working perfectly for both meanings of my question.

I had so many things that I needed to say to her, but I couldn't think of a single one in that moment. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I could feel the sweat beading up on my temple, but thankfully, she took over.

"Here, come inside," she said while moving over so I could pass.

I walked in and looked around remembering everything about the apartment, which made me feel even stupider for even briefly thinking the weirdo's place before could possibly belong to Bella.

"Uh…how are you doing? I actually wasn't expecting you to contact me until tomorrow," she said uncomfortably.

"Yeah…well if you want I can come back," I offered quickly while pulling my phone out of my pocket so I could call Carlisle.

"No," she almost shouted. "I…uh…I mean _no_, you don't have to do that. I'm glad you're here," she told me.

"Carlie's sleeping?" I assumed, but asked just to be sure.

"Yeah…she has school tomorrow," Bella explained hesitantly.

"Oh, right. I forgot that she started school already. I missed her summer break," I said full of regret.

Bella shrugged. "I was considering keeping her out tomorrow so she can spend time with you."

"Really?" I asked hopefully.

"One day won't hurt her, and she misses you like crazy. She's asked every day when you were coming back…I didn't tell her you were in the hospital; I just said you had some things to take care of. So she's been more than a little impatient," Bella said with a halfhearted laugh.

"Can I go…?" I asked, gesturing towards Rapunzel's bedroom.

Bella nodded. "Of course."

"Thanks," I muttered before slowly walking down the hall. I opened the door as quietly as possible, and tried to find my way over to her bed in the darkness. When my eyes adjusted to the lack of light, I just watched her sleep for awhile. My little girl; she was absolutely perfect, and I had no idea the depths of how much I missed her until that moment.

She was snoring quietly, so I smiled, kissed her head, whispered "I love you", and then finally left her alone to dream in peace.

"She's grown," I mused after going back to the living room where Bella was.

"She grows like a weed," Bella agreed lightly.

We were awkwardly silent for a time, and then I took a deep breath to try to find the strength for what I needed to say, and I must have found it, because I suddenly started talking.

"Bella…there are no words that can properly express how unbelievably sorry I am….not just for the way I acted towards you the last time we saw each other, but for every… cruel act, every hurtful word, every time you had to cry because of me. Every day that turned into the years that I was away. Every minute that you were in pain because of me. If there was any way I could take it all away from you, I would. I love you so much, and I swear to you, whether you'll ever take me back or not, I will never give you another reason to doubt me," I told her intensely.

But words were just words, and I knew that. She needed to feel my regretful remorse, and as she stood there with a blank stare, I had no idea what she was thinking. Even though I was positive she would give me another chance, I also knew it would take time to get anywhere close to what we could be. However, in that moment, standing that close to her and not being able to hold her, was excruciating.

"Edward," she finally said, no louder than a whisper. I looked at her, but didn't respond. "I told you…I've always been waiting."

I never saw her move, but suddenly her arms were around me, swaddling me with all her astonishingly unconditional warmth.

It was too much.

As much as I wanted it, and as much as I ached for her embrace, having her wrapped around me in that way was just so much more than I could handle….so I broke down.

Every inch of me was trembling as I held on to her for dear life, but my legs wouldn't hold anymore, so I sunk down to my knees and just bawled with my face buried in her abdomen. She held me too; she cradled my head and stroked my hair as she cried with me. She bent forward to mold herself around me, and she rested her cheek on my temple.

A small part of me felt like a fucking idiot going on like that, but most of me didn't care. She was there, we were together, and the world finally began spinning again.

Without letting me go, she lowered herself so we both ended up on the floor with her curled on my lap….and then she silenced my pain completely, by crushing my mouth with hers. There were no more tears after that, there wasn't any room for them.

She kissed me, and I kissed her harder. Her lips were my air as I struggled to breathe, but I needed more. I stood, and pulled her up with me, but continued lifting her until she was up in my arms and I was carrying her back to her bedroom…_or where I assumed was her bedroom, because technically, I had never been in there before. _

But when we got in the room, I tried to calm myself. I didn't want to lose control anymore, even if it was the good kind. At least for awhile, I needed to remain focused. Besides, I wanted to remember every second of my time with her, and the only way to do that was to keep a clear head. So I gently stood Bella on her feet.

"What's wrong?" she asked, confused by my sudden downshift.

"I've never been in here before," I told her pathetically.

"Oh…well, to be honest, no one else has been in here…other than Carlie. I've always kept this room pretty private."

I nodded. "Privacy is good," – _knowing her ex fiancé had never been in there, was even better; of course, there was no need to voice that fact_.

I continued to look around her room, and then found something amusingly curious. "What's this?" I asked as I pulled out the photo album.

"Oh," she said while her face darkened two shades of pink. "Uh…" she was absolutely embarrassed.

"It's ok, really," I assured her as I looked through the book. It was all clippings from magazines and various photos of me with my band, much like the stuff the crazy dude the floor below had, except coming from her, it was a whole hell of a lot less creepy.

"What's so funny?" she asked playfully defensive as I began to laugh.

"Nothing, sorry. I was just downstairs and this guy pulled out a lot of this same stuff, it was just kind of…_disturbing_."

"Oh, you're talking about Jac," Bella said knowingly.

"What? You know about that guy?" I asked surprised.

"Everyone knows everyone here. I know it seems kind of…low income, but really, everyone here is really nice."

"And you get along with my biggest fan down there?"

Bella giggled. "He's harmless."

"But he doesn't know _you _and Carlie are_ mine_, right?"

"No. I said he's harmless, but if he knew that _we_ belonged to _you_, it might change things," she admitted. We both knew the significance of the choice words we used. Me saying '_you and Carlie are mine'_, and her coming back with _'we belonged to you'_, spoke volumes of where our relationship currently was. And it was an amazing feeling.

"So…" I said while glancing through the stuff she had. "Let me guess….you used this stuff to get off on, right?" I said with a straight face.

She stared at me in shock.

"What? Don't look surprised by that question, I remember the way you used to touch yourself when you thought of me," I said smugly.

"No, I had saved these things for Carlie in case she never got a chance to really meet you…The truth is, I would have never had to touch myself _if_ you were there to do the touching for me," she said seriously.

"Hey, I stepped up back then," I said defensively while remembering the first time we had sex after we got married. I'll never forget that night, when she basically told me to fuck her or she was going to do it herself…._Yeah, that was definitely an amazing night_.

"Yes, you did. Maybe it's time to do it again," she said enticingly.

There was no way I was going to pass up that invitation, so I smiled, and pulled her closer to me, and wrapped her in my arms.

"There's no rush," I told her, just to be sure it was what she really wanted. "We can wait…take it slow."

She looked me intensely in the eyes; the joking mood had passed. "We have waited….and ten years is slow enough."

_My sentiments exactly. _

So I leaned over, taking her face gently in my hands, and kissed her tenderly. "I love you," I told her emotionally.

"I love you too," she said just as strongly.

I kissed down her neck as I unbuttoned her shirt, but I couldn't help but laugh a little.

"What?" she asked unconcerned, and slightly annoyed that I was pausing.

"Are these mine?" I asked as I finished unbuttoning her.

"You left them…finder's keepers," she said lightly.

"Do you always sleep in my old PJs?" I asked against the skin on her shoulder as I pulled the shirt the rest of the way off of her.

"It was the closest I could get to sleeping with you," she murmured as my kissing moved down her chest. "If I had known you'd show up here tonight, I would have hidden them."

"Mmm, but I like them on you….or _off_ you, rather," I said as I pulled down her rolled pants.

"Why am I the one who's always naked first," she asked breathlessly as my hand came up between her thighs.

"You're prettier naked than I am," I told her as my fingers caressed her sensitive folds.

"Oh, I beg to differ," she said while pushing my hand away from her, before grabbing the hem of my shirt to pull it over my head. She kissed my chest while undoing my pants, and pushed them down to my ankles. She pushed my boxers down next, and immediately grabbed my hardness and began to rub slowly up and down the length. It felt absolutely incredible, but just like her not wanting my hand at that moment, I didn't want hers either. I pulled her away, and lifted her up slightly by her ass to move us towards the bed….and of course, because my pants were still around my ankles, I tripped, sending us both tumbling to the bed.

We both started laughing as we bounced from our fall, which only made our tangled naked bodies awaken even more, so our laughs quickly morphed into pure passion as we resumed kissing the others body. Our lips caressed any and every part of the other's skin that we could reach, and the fire building between us intensified with every passing touch.

I needed to be inside of her, it wasn't a desire, it was a necessity as important as breathing. But because I was hanging onto controlled sanity with every ounce I was capable of, I soon realized there was definitely a problem.

"I don't have a condom," I mumbled.

"Huh?..._oh_….So, no one slipped you any recently?" she asked. I was pretty certain she meant it as a joke, but it came out sounding desperate. She needed me inside her as much as I needed it. Our bodies needed to be connected, it was just a fact.

"No, that's not a common thing to do in the loony bin," I joked.

Her hands were tight on my back as I laid on top of her with our bodies pressed firmly together, flesh to flesh. Moving inside of her would only take one fluid motion, but I couldn't, not without a condom…_Fuck!_

Except, maybe I could….

"Edward, it doesn't matter," Bella breathed. "We're together now…nothing's going to come between us again," she said confidently.

"I swear," I added, just reaffirming what she was saying. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life making everything up to you."

"Then make love to me now, and whatever happens, we'll take care of it together," she said doubtlessly.

"Are you sure?" I asked feeling a new sensation, something that I couldn't remember feeling before. It was similar to excitement and hope, and yet it was stronger because it was a result of a choice. The thought of choosing to jump right into a family life with her, without a hint of fear, was beyond words. I wanted it, I wanted to be married again with a baby on the way. Maybe it was all too soon, but neither of us were afraid. We were past it, past running away, and it was time to start living, no matter what life had in store for us.

"I've never been more sure about anything before," she said softly.

I kissed her again, before shifting myself in just the right position, and slowly pushed into her. Every time I moved inside her, it felt like the first. It didn't matter if we had been apart for awhile, or together a few hours earlier, she always gave me the most overwhelming intense feeling I ever had before. And I was positive that would never change.

She held onto me tightly as we moved together in perfect harmony. Giving and taking, pushing and pulling; we were once again, perfectly in-sync as we both neared the edge. Slowing down when we got too close, and then speeding back up to prolong the feeling. The room wasn't hot, but the temperature of our union was causing us to both sweat in the most amazingly erotic way. Our moist foreheads were pressed together as we stared into each other's eyes, while our bodies continued to work together.

And just like the way we always would from then on, we _came_ together…in every sense of the word. I erupted inside of her as her walls clamped down on me, and released in a pulsating buzz that engulfed our entire combined body.

And, just for old time sake, I asked her "Are you ok?"

Which she responded with a tired giggle. "I am now," she said while holding me even closer to her, emphasizing her meaning.

I didn't pull out of her, and despite knowing we'd probably come apart while we slept, I decided to just stay that way for as long as possible. I carefully maneuvered us to the side so we were resting comfortably, and we just held each other.

I still had so much I wanted to say to her, and there was so much she wanted to hear; so, right then, as we laid there twisted and attached, I told her everything on my mind. I explained what happed during my six weeks under lock down, and even described the dream I had of the shaking room. I wanted her to know that even though I wanted to get better for myself, it was her strength and love that got me there.

She was quiet and listened the entire time, and when I was finished, she just simply held me tighter, kissed my lips sweetly, and said "I love you so much." And that's the only response I needed. Everything that mattered was there in those few words, and in the depths of her eyes.

We were quiet then, with nothing else that needed to be discussed at that moment. Everything else would work itself out, and we drifted off to sleep knowing that the next day, would be the first day of the rest of our lives.

When the sun arose and blazed through the window, I woke up with a smile, still holding Bella in my arms.

"Morning," I said as I kissed her awake. It may have been selfish of me, but it was still early and I knew we had some time before Rapunzel got up, so I wanted to take full advantage.

"Mmm," she mumbled with a smile, but kept her eyes shut.

"It's time to wake up," I said with a quiet laugh. As predicted, we came apart during the night, but all that did was make my manliness want back inside even more.

"Are you going to make love to me again?" she asked almost unintelligibly.

"That was the plan," I said before kissing her bare shoulder.

"Ok," she said, suddenly fully awake and eager.

I laughed again. "Well, aren't we horny in the morning," I teased.

"Yes, and it's a good thing you're here too, because if you weren't I would have had to go through your pile of magazine clippings to masturbate to," she joked before rolling over on top of me, and climbing right onto my lap. She didn't waste any time on foreplay, she just automatically lifted herself up, before sinking down and taking me all inside her.

She began rocking, so I matched her movements with upwards thrusts to deepen the sensation. She let her head fall back as our motions intensified, but I kept my hands firmly on her hips to steady us in order to go even harder. And as much as I wanted to close my eyes from the euphoric feeling, I kept them wide and fixated on her perfect body as she climaxed.

God, she was so fucking beautiful.

She continued to move on me to ride out her orgasm, which completely sent me over the edge…I only hoped I wasn't grabbing a hold of her too tightly, because I really couldn't tell. But of course, she didn't complain, not that she ever would, but she seemed to be perfectly content as she collapsed forward onto my chest.

We breathed together for a few minutes, before she kissed me one more time, and then pulled herself off of me.

"I could really use a shower," she said seductively as she walked completely naked into the conjoining bathroom.

"Yeah, I definitely stink," I joked as I jumped out of bed to follow her.

When we were finished washing each other, we both got dressed, but of course I was finished sooner, so I went back into the bathroom and started brushing my teeth.

"Is that my toothbrush?" Bella asked incredulously when she saw what I was doing.

I shrugged. "You use my PJs, it's only fair," I mumbled as I continued. I actually forgot my bag in Carlisle's car, so I was forced to wear the clothes I had on the day before, but after having my mouth over every inch of Bella's body, I needed to brush my teeth before seeing my daughter.

I was almost giddy at the thought of seeing Rapunzel and telling her I was home for good. Six weeks of being away from her without ever saying goodbye, was just way too much.

"Well, it's my turn now," Bella said while taking her toothbrush out of my hand. She smiled, and then leaned forward before sticking her tongue in my mouth, still full of toothpaste.

It was disgustingly erotic.

Bella pulled out of the messy kiss, and then wiped her face. "Thanks," she said before smiling and walking back to the bedroom.

_She was seriously going to kill me._

But then everything else went away, as the door of the bedroom started jiggling.

"Mom, why is the door locked?" Rapunzel's voice carried.

Bella glanced back at me to make sure I was decent, and then she opened the door while I quickly washed my mouth out.

"What's going on? You never lock your….DADDY!" Rapunzel yelled when she saw me, and then launched herself at me, and right into my waiting arms. "You're here, you're really here," she said happily as we held each other.

"I'm here, and I'm never leaving you again," I cooed into her ear.

Rapunzel was more than a little happy to take the day off of school so we could get caught up, and she spent the majority of the day talking my ear off, and filing me in on everything I missed. She wanted to know what I had been doing since we saw each other last, but I thought that conversation was better left for when she was older. So I simply replied with –"I was fixing some things so I could stay with you."

I didn't think she could possibly understand what I was talking about, but she seemed to be thinking about it really hard.

"Dad, I heard Aunt Rose say that what goes up, must go down…but I think she was wrong."

"Oh yeah, how so?" I asked confused as to why she decided to tell me that at that moment.

"Because, when you plant a seed _down_ in the ground, it always grows _up. _So it can work both ways."

I thought about what she was saying, and it actually made sense and was extremely profound for her age. Not everything had to come crashing back to earth, sometimes things really can go up and stay up until the very end. We could stay together as a family; it was possible to live the rest of our lives in that way.

Later that afternoon, Bella said she had a surprise for me, so since it was a Friday and Rapunzel didn't have school the following day, the two of them packed an overnight bag and we drove to Forks for the weekend. I needed my stuff from Carlisle's car anyway, so going was actually a good thing…_as long as Bella and I could still get some alone time in at night._

"You're not throwing some annoying welcome home party, are you?" I asked warily.

"I'm not telling you anything," Bella said with a smile as she drove down the highway.

"Bella, I don't want some big hoopla over me," I whined.

"There's no party; _our_ family will be there to see you….but that's not the surprise," she said with a smirk, knowing it was driving me mad.

"What is it Rapunzel?" I asked over my shoulder, hoping that Carlie would tell me if she knew. But she just shrugged; either she knew and wouldn't tell me, or she really had no idea what it was - my guess was the former.

The suspense was driving me mad, but nothing could really bring me down, because the three of us were already on the fast track to normalcy. There was no more awkwardness or uncertainties. We were a family, and there was no need to take time to ease into it.

When we pulled up to the Cullen's house, everyone came out to greet me….and to my surprise, Jasper was there with Alice as well. After I greeted all the Cullens, with an extra long hug from Esme, I turned to Jasper to inquire about work related shit.

"Hey man," I said while giving him the handshake dude hug.

"You made it out," he said excitedly.

"Yeah, well," I shrugged. "What happened with Aro, did he end up getting pissed because I was gone?" I asked him.

"Yeah, he was pissed. But Carlisle basically pointed out the beauty of a celebrity breakdown with a sequential stint in rehab," Jasper explained with a laugh. "Aro is loving the publicity."

"_Ah fuck!_ Are you serious?" I asked annoyed by the headache that the 'publicity' was going to cause me.

"Hey, I figured you'd prefer that over being sued," Carlisle said defensively.

I pressed my lips and nodded. "True. Thanks Carlisle."

"Yeah, there was some major media posted outside all the treatment facilities in LA and New York hoping to figure out where you were," Jasper went on. "But that's the beauty of Seattle, no one even suspected it."

"Nice," I said.

"Hey bro, I was thinking. If you ever need a roadie, I could definitely help you in that department," Emmett said unexpectedly.

"You're hired," I said jokingly, but of course, if he was serious, then so was I.

We all went inside for a bit, and Esme made dinner. It was really awesome sitting around the table with my entire family, as we all laughed and reminisced about old times. It felt so good to be able to joke about the things that used to weigh me down, but that was the new found freedom that I had earned.

Carlisle and Esme were thrilled to have Jasper back in the picture as well, they all were. It was obvious that he and Alice belonged together, just as Bella and I did.

"You ready?" Bella asked after dinner as everyone moved into the living room to continue the reunion.

"For what?" I asked confused. It was still too early to turn in for the night, Rapunzel was even still bouncing around the house, so I really had no idea what she was talking about.

"For your surprise."

"I thought Jasper was my surprise," I said.

She smiled. "Jasper, _your friend who you've spent the past ten years with_, your surprise? I don't think so," she said before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the front door. "Esme, we're heading out for a bit!" she called to her.

"Ok, I'll make sure Carlie goes to bed at a decent hour," Esme replied. "Have fun."

"Thanks," Bella said, before leading me outside.

"Where are we going?" I asked getting anxious.

"You're about to find out," Bella said, amused by my impatience.

I followed her to the huge Cullen garage, where I was even more confused. She opened the big door to let in more light, then took me in the back where there was what looked like a covered car.

"Surprise!" she said excitedly.

"You got me a car?" I asked thoroughly confused.

"Take off the cover," she instructed, so I did.

"Holy SHIT!" I yelled, completely flabbergasted. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Bella just smiled, as I completely lost it. It wasn't just any car, it was _my _car…my mother's Volvo. Not just the same model, it was THE car, it still even had the scratch mark on the front finder from my first driving mishap when I was sixteen.

"How…where…?" I was at a loss.

"Well, I used the VIN number to track it down. Technically, Carlisle still had all the paperwork on it since you didn't actually give it away legally," she explained.

"So, you just took the car from Laurence?" I asked skeptically.

"No, Laurence had sold it to some car enthusiast guy who wanted it because it was a limited edition; he didn't even care that the thing was never registered, he just basically kept it in his garage. So basically, I had to spend an obscene amount of money to get him to give it up."

I narrowed my eyes at her, playfully suspicious. "And, where did you get the money?"

"Oh you know, the pole," she said seriously. "Being a stripper makes really good money these days."

"Uh-huh, right," I said sarcastically.

"Well, I guess I was more of a prostitute. I did have to let some really sleazy guy get me pregnant to get the money for this," she continued with her serious tone.

I smiled widely. "Sleazy? I am definitely not sleazy… Wait, you used your half of my inheritance for this? I thought you said that money was for Carlie?"

Bella shrugged. "Well, I figured my next husband was rich enough to cover her future."

I smiled again, and wrapped her in my arms. "You're going to let me be your sugar daddy?"

"I don't think you're old enough to be my sugar _daddy_, but…basically yeah."

"What happened to not wanting a lavish lifestyle?" I teased.

But then she really did become serious. "I don't...but I had to make a choice, and working a full time job here in Washington, just doesn't mix with your life and what you do. So, if we're going to make this work, then I need to be with you and go where you go….which means I need to quit working. Living the way you do, was never something I ever thought I would do, _or wanted to do_, but I want to be with you, and nothing else matters."

I caressed her face and then leaned in to kiss her. I knew Bella wasn't the type who reveled in expensive things, in fact, they made her uncomfortable, but she was willing to put up with all of it to be with me and I couldn't have possibly been more grateful. I was resolved to give up my career for her, even if it meant getting sued, because there wasn't anything more important to me than being with her every day, but now I didn't have to. We both knew the music thing wouldn't last forever, but until my career was officially over, she'd be there with me.

"What about Carlie's school?" I asked.

"We'll figure it all out," she said doubtlessly. "But right now, let's take this baby for a spin," she said while placing a key in my hand.

"You're the best, do you know that?" I asked with a huge grin.

"Yeah, but you can keep telling me that if you want," she said arrogantly.

"You're the best," I said then kissed her. "You're the best," I repeated, and then kissed her again. I was about to tell her for a third time, but she put her finger on my lips to stop me.

"Ok, kiss me again later. Let's go," she said with a giggle.

We got in the car, and I drove out of the garage and onto the street. "Where to?"

"Just drive," she said while placing her hand over mine.

"You got it," I said while taking off towards the freeway.

I couldn't believe how quickly everything had changed. After spending ten years with the world at my fingertips but having nothing I needed, finally, I had my life back and everything made sense again. The car, which had meant everything to me at one time, was just an added bonus. I didn't need it anymore…but it was sure as hell nice to have back.

As I drove towards my intended location, I mused over just how drastically I had changed within myself, since the last time I was in that car with her. Even though I loved Bella back then, I never allowed myself to ever dream of having a real life with her….and there we were, over ten years later, seated in the same places, and yet, our future was finally set and on track.

Bella must have realized where we were headed as I turned down the familiar streets, but she didn't say anything. She just sat there peacefully, holding my hand, right where she should be by my side.

I parked, and we both got out….and even though I highly doubted it would be there, I took a chance and popped the trunk to look for the old blanket I used to keep back there….and it actually was. Well, it wasn't the same blanket, but there was definitely a blanket.

"You put this back here?" I said with a grin.

"I know you always like to be prepared."

"God, I love you."

"I love you too," she said before I kissed her. We walked up to the same sand dune that I took her to, so many years before, when we were just a couple of kids - Me, with an ulterior motive; her, loving a part of me that I thought had died with my mother and sister. But she always knew what I couldn't see, that I was still there, locked in that room of pain…waiting for her to break me out. And she did, she was the only one who ever could.

We laid wrapped up together, just watching the tide change of the ocean in front of us. It was strange to have no fear of the future, but I really didn't. Life was full of uncertainties, but as long as we both lived, we'd be together.

"Bella, will you marry me?" I asked her softly. It wasn't a plan to ask her that, it just came out, but I'd never regret it. I didn't have a ring, or some huge speech thought out, I wasn't even down on my knee, but the question was just as meaningful as it would have been if I did have all those things.

Everything had happened so fast; I was in the loony bin only the day before, but as the sun set on the first complete day of being reunited with her, I knew it was the perfect time to ask. Bella was right before when she said we had taken it slow enough over the past ten years….it was time to jump right into the life we were always meant to be living.

Bella rolled over to rest her chin on my chest, and she looked at me just as she did in my dream – full of love and devotion, and then she said - "Yes, of course I'll marry you."

I felt like I could fly…really and truly. No feeling in the world could possibly compare.

* * *

><p><strong>****Nothing but a breezy HEA chapterepilogue left. All the drama is behind them…thank goodness!**

**Feel free to let me know if there was something you think I left out, because after the next chapter, this story is finis **

**Thanks for sticking with me!  
>Please Review<strong>


	26. Epilogue

**Unintended**

~_Epilogue_~

Sometimes, I really hated the holidays; Christmas in particular. People were always so greedy that time of the year as they fought and cursed their ways through last minute shopping deals. Even the Santa Clauses, who ring bells outside of stores, were often rude.

"Oh what? Mr. Money bags is too good for charity?" one particularly nasty Santa said to me one afternoon as I was coming out of Walmart.

"Laurence?" I said as I squinted my eyes to see through the beard.

"Fuck you!" he replied casually.

"Ha, it is you!" I said surprised. "Well, it looks like you're doing well," I said sarcastically.

"Go fuck yourself," he said while keeping his careless tone.

"Wow, that was nice Santa, we'll see if we leave you any cookies by the fireplace," I said mockingly before heading to my car.

I threw my bags in the trunk, and then put the car into drive, before that same Santa stepped out in front of my exit.

"Do you want to get run over?" I asked irritated.

Laurence then pulled down his beard and walked over to my window. "Wow, I can't believe you actually got this thing back," he said while looking over my Volvo.

"No thanks to you," I said coldly.

"What? If you really won that fucking bet, then you should have come back for it."

I rolled my eyes. "Dude, that was over thirteen years ago, get over it; I have," I said before trying to roll up my window, but his hand jetted out to stop it.

"I fucking made you, you'd be nothing if it weren't for me," he said irately.

"Excuse me?" I asked with a laugh. "How are _you_ responsible for my life?"

"If it weren't for that bet, you would have been just as much of a fuck up as I am. I gave you that pretty little wife of yours, your kids, and your fucking career," he said sourly.

I thought about it, and nodded in agreement. "Hey, I guess you're right. Thanks man, I appreciate it."

"That's it? That's all you have to fucking say to me? The way I see it, you owe me."

"I owe you what?" I asked amused by his seriousness.

"Everything…but I'll settle on just the shit in your fucking wallet," he said as he pulled out a gun and stuck it in my face.

"Wow, you're not really a charity worker are you?" I asked unfazed. "I bet you swiped the Santa suit from some real do-gooder, and you pocket all the money you make here, don't you?"

"I'm not fucking playing here Masen, give me your fucking wallet!" he demanded while cocking his gun.

"Is this the same one you threatened me with all those years ago?" I asked as I looked at the barrel.

"Your wallet!" he shouted.

"Fine," I said with a huff. I looked in the seat next to me where I had thrown my wallet, and picked it up to give to Laurence. I suppose I was lucky, he could have followed me home and turned the gun on my family, and that would have ended very badly…for him that is.

I held it up, so Laurence stepped closer to take it, but then I grabbed him by the collar of his costume, and twisted it so he was actually choking from it.

"Listen you fucking prick," I said sternly as I practically pulled him through my window. "I really don't appreciate having a gun in my fucking face." He looked scared shitless, and he probably was because he was a fucking pansy. The idiot couldn't even remember that he had a fucking gun then, but I suppose being choked was a little distracting. "Now, give me the gun," I said calmly.

He gargled and made choking noises as his face turned sever different shades of red, but of course, he handed me the gun.

"Thanks. And since you're a fucking moron, this whole little interaction between us was caught on the security cameras up there….oh and look, the cops are already coming to welcome you to your new home in a jail cell," I said cockily.

After I told the police what happened…well, they were more like parking lot security guards, Laurence was detained while they waited for the real cops to come and arrest him, and I continued on my way home.

"Hey, did you get it?" Bella asked as she took the bags out of my hands.

"No, they were all out of Justin Bieber shit, so I got fuzzy kittens," I said dryly.

"Are you serious?" she asked in a panic as she looked through the stuff I brought home. "This is all Justin," she said, annoyed by my fib.

"Of course. What fucking store would run out of that floppy haired little dream boat?" I said mockingly. "Do you know how embarrassing it is for me to walk around with that shit in my cart? Next time, you have to go buy it all."

"I'm doing everything else for the party. The least you can do is the shopping," she said distractedly as she looked over everything and compared it to the things we already bought. Since Rapunzel's birthday was so close to Christmas, we had to buy everything in advance because of the holiday rush.

"You know, I kind of think we should skip the party this year," I said with concern lacing my words.

"Why?" Bella asked confused.

"She's turning thirteen….as in 'teen'…as in she's becoming a teenager….as in life as we know it is completely over."

Bella smiled and then leaned in to kiss me tenderly. "It'll all be ok," she murmured against my lips before kissing me again quickly, and then returning to her inventory.

"I don't know why you do all this shit anyway. Alice is a far better planner than you," I said truthfully.

"Well Alice and Jasper won't be here until Christmas morning, and that's too late," Bella explained.

Alice and Jasper had married the year before, and they were living the fast life in New York. Neither of them had any desire to have kids, they were just happy to be together; although with Esme's guilt trips, I had a feeling they may cave on that issue one day.

The phone rang then, and I was about to answer it, but Bella got there first.

"Hello?" she asked. "Yeah, he's right here, why?...Okay," she said while going into the living room and turning on the TV. I curiously followed her of course, and there it was, my little altercation with Laurence on the local news. Fucking small town with nothing better to do than report on nothing. "Oh. My. God. No, he didn't say anything to me….yeah, I will….ok, bye."

Bella hung up the phone, and just glared at me.

"What?" I asked sheepishly.

"You were held up while at the store?" she asked with a mix of fear and irritation that I didn't tell her right away.

"It wasn't a big deal," I said nonchalantly.

"Not a big deal?" she asked frustrated. "You had a gun pointed at you."

"What? It was Laurence. The guy is a tool, but he's not a murderer. I knew he wasn't going to shoot me."

Bella shook her head. "Is Garrett your only friend from high school that was sane?"

"Yes," I said doubtlessly, but then I thought about it and changed my answer. "Babe, you were my friend in high school," I said as sweetly as I was capable of.

"Ahh, thanks honey," she said with a smile.

"Oh, I wasn't implying that you were sane, I was just stating the fact that we were friends….sort of….well actually, we weren't really friends, were we?" I teased.

"You could have just finished your comment with us being friends," she said playfully bitter.

"Mmm, but what fun would that have been?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Don't get all affectionate on me right now," she said feebly as I began kissing down her neck.

"Why not? Carlie is at Claire's, and Eli is sleeping," I said without stopping.

Carlie's relationship with Claire had suffered greatly from their parent's ended engagement. Jacob was heartbroken for about six months, but when he met his current wife Leah, he pretty much realized that Bella was never the right woman for him, and he let the girls be friends again. Surprisingly, we had all hung out a few times, and it wasn't even awkward. Bella and him had never really had a romantic relationship, so there wasn't any lingering jealousy from any of us. We weren't friends by any means, but for the girls' sake, we were pleasantly amiable.

"Eli isn't sleeping anymore," Bella said with a slight pout as we heard our eighteen month old daughter crying upstairs.

"I'll get her," I said before kissing her one last time, and then running up the stairs.

Elizabeth Esme Masen, was named after my two mothers, but we called her Eli for short. She was a very laid back little girl, who only really cried when she needed something. But having another daughter definitely made me realize just how much I had missed from when Rapunzel was little. It was time that I would never be able to get back, and I would always regret not being around for.

Bella and I talked about adding a third child to our family, but our lives seemed to be constantly stuck on the fast forward button, and we just wanted to enjoy the kids we had as much as possible. So, I got a vasectomy. Everyone was shocked by our decision, they all just assumed that we'd want to try for a boy, but to be honest, I loved the idea of just having my girls, and boys were all little punks anyway.

We lived bicoastal for awhile; jetting back and forth to New York and Washington, but home was Forks, and that's where we wanted to plant our roots. We bought a house near the Cullen's place and even though it wasn't Port Angeles like what Carlie was used to, it was still familiar to her and we truly became a family there. When we were in New York for longer than a week at a time, Carlie would do school by correspondence, but most of the time when I had to work, Bella and I would just go out there for a long weekend alone, and the kids would stay with Esme and Carlisle.

People in Forks knew us, and they didn't give a shit what I did for a living, so I was confident it was the best place to find privacy in our everyday lives, without being bothered too much. Of course, we still had to deal with normal small town gossiping bullshit, but in comparison, it was definitely worth the alternative.

The fact that I had gotten married and become a devoted family guy, actually pleased Aro and my record label quite a bit. They were tired of always fighting off questions about my dating life, _or lack thereof_, so they were thrilled about the turn of events. My stint in 'rehab' had definitely brought more attention to me and my band, so having a stable family to support me was a bonus…Of course, Aro was also hoping for an affair and divorce to follow, and quite possibly another bout in rehab, but those were things that I refused to cooperate with. My family was secure, and ending any part of it would never happen.

Bella had slowly become more comfortable with our times in New York. She leaned to play the part, just as I had. We'd dress up, smile for the cameras, go to the parties and clubs when we were asked, and then we would fly back home to our kids and just be normal again. It took time to get used to, but as long as we stayed together, we could handle anything.

But now I was the father of a teenager, and I was fairly certain a mid-life crisis was to follow.

"You're too young for a mid-life crisis," Bella said casually a few days later. Christmas had flown by, and it was the day of Carlie's big birthday bash... and yes, I was freaking out a bit.

"Bella, think about it; she's going to start dating soon, and then she'll be sneaking out in the middle of the night, and then we'll be grandparents and wonder what the fuck happened," I said in a rush.

Bella just laughed and then kissed me, before going to put the final decorations up.

My house was filled with fucking Bieber fever. It was annoying, and frankly, a little insulting. I wasn't bitter over the fact that the little prick had just beat my band out for the top spot on the MTV countdown, I seriously just didn't understand the appeal in the kid. He looked like a girl, and sang like one too.

But, what Rapunzel wants….

As the party moved forward into full swing, it seemed that everywhere I looked, there were screaming girls. They were in all the bathrooms and in every corner of the house…it was overwhelming.

"I thought this was supposed to be a backyard party?" I asked Esme as she walked past with a tray of cupcakes.

"It's freezing out," she responded quickly.

"So…they have…jackets. And what about all those heaters I had put in?"

"Honey, just relax," Esme said with a pat to my cheek before continuing on her way.

So, I did the only thing a man could do in that situation, I found my father and brothers, and we popped open some beers and relaxed in our own little bubble of testosterone. Being together was our only defensive strategy against the throngs of overly shrilly females.

"So…bro, I've been meaning to talk to you about something for awhile now, but there was never the right time," Emmett said hesitantly as we sat out there on my cold back porch. Fucking heaters didn't seem to be doing their job very well. It was freezing out, but still better than being around all the adolescent girls inside.

"So you thought _this_ was the right time?" Jasper jumped in jokingly.

"Well, we're all just sitting here," Emmett said defensively.

"I think it's the perfect time, go ahead," Carlisle urged.

"What's up?" I asked him, agreeing with Carlisle that there was no reason to hold back. None of the girls were paying attention to us anyway.

"Rose and I are in the process of adopting a child," he said quickly.

"Really? That's awesome," I said, genuinely excited for them, but the look on his face made me think otherwise. "This is a good thing, right?"

"Well…he's twelve and his dad, who was his only family, was just killed in a car accident a few months ago. He's been living with a foster family for awhile, but he has some emotional issues. The adoption agency told us that we were better off adopting a baby, but….when we heard about this kid, we just felt compelled to give him a home with us. After being around you and your…_traumatic_ past, we understand how difficult raising such a child could be, but….we really want to give him a family that he's never really had before."

"Wow…well, that's great. And you know you can count on Bella and me for anything you need. I'm sure Dr. Amun can recommend an excellent child psychologist for him to meet with as well," I suggested.

"Yeah, that's a good idea…." Emmett mused, but he still seemed anxious about something, as if he had more to say but was nervous by how I'd react.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It'll be fine Emmett, just tell him," Carlisle encouraged.

"The kid's name is Riley…he's Vicky's son," Emmett said unexpectedly.

Uh…_fuck_.

"Seriously?" I asked a little wigged-out. "I thought James was raising….oh. James _died_?"

"Yeah…apparently he was drinking and driving… I guess we should have told you, but we didn't find out until right before the adoption agency called us, and we just were so consumed with this kid, that everything else never came back up. I'm sorry man, I know you were close to him for awhile."

"Yeah, well…." I really didn't know what to say about that. James was my friend, but he was also partially responsible for all the shit that went down resulting in me missing ten years of my daughter's life. It was good of him to step up and raise a kid that wasn't his, but it was hard to mourn him after everything else that had happened. And the kid, although I'd never blame a child for something his bitch of a mother did, it was still weird to think of Emmett raising the child who was trying to be passed off as mine for awhile.

"This boy has no other family, and I do foresee much work ahead of you with his emotional well being, but I think it's a very honorable thing to do," Carlisle told Emmett. "Children of his age and background often have a very difficult time finding a permanent home, so I'm very proud of you, son."

It was obvious that Carlisle had known about it all for awhile, but it was good to hear him say all that anyway. It showed me perspective. Carlisle had taken me in around the same age as this kid, and granted the situation was vastly different, but still, a child with nowhere else to go, just needed some unconditional love, patience, and stability.

"I think it's awesome of you Em," I told him finally.

"Really?" he said surprised.

"Definitely. It doesn't matter who this kid's monster of a parent was, he just needs the right people to help him succeed in life….to still love him through all his massive fuck ups, which I'm positive he'll have. My offer still stands. Anything you need for him, you can count on me," I said sincerely.

"Wow, I do have to say, that is definitely not the reaction I was expecting from you. But I'm really glad. You're my brother, and I'd hate for something like this to put a wedge between us," Emmett said heavily.

"No, I mean, I may have to go back into Dr. Amun's emotional rehab again because of this, but it's cool."

Emmett just stared at me in shock.

"Dude, I'm fucking with you," I said with a laugh.

"Oh… right," he said, and then laughed with me, although his laugh was still a little uneasy.

"Well, you know what this means, boys?" Jasper said with a mischievous grin.

"What?" we all asked.

"Time to bring out the cigars….complete with baby blue 'it's a boy' tags, and everything," he said excitedly.

"Not around the kids," Carlisle responded quickly.

"Not here, not now," Jasper said frustrated, and then turned back to Emmett. "We need to have a guy's night and kiss goodbye to your freedom."

"I'm not a single guy getting married, so why the hell do I need a bachelor's type of outing?" Emmett asked confused.

"Because, we all remember the kind of shit Edward pulled when we were younger, I'm sure Carlisle never got a night's rest. It's time to have one last hurrah," Jasper explained.

"Yeah, I have to agree. We should go out…you know, like to go…bowling, or something," I said pathetically. God, I was getting old.

"Yeah…_bowling_, super exciting," Jasper said sarcastically.

I was about to come up with a good comeback, but then my big birthday surprise arrived for Rapunzel….and all the girls started screaming, so we went inside.

"Hey, thanks for coming," I told the floppy haired girly pop singer.

"Definitely," he said in return. "But remember, you owe me an appearance at my mom's birthday; she just loves you," Justin said like the little punk I always knew he was.

"Yeah whatever. Get up there and fucking sing for them. I'm paying you enough, so I better get my fucking money's worth," I said lightly… at least it sounded light and jokingly in my head, but the scared shitless look he gave me, made me think otherwise.

I knew it was a little over the top to get the cheesy teen poster boy there for Carlie's thirteenth birthday party, but hey, what the hell good was my career if I didn't take advantage of it every once in awhile. Bella always kept me grounded and refused to let me spoil our girls….and that's why I never told her about this surprise.

Everyone went outside to watch the little twerp perform a few songs, and even the cold couldn't chill the girls' enthusiasm.

Bella looked at me from across the yard with a mix of shock and a little bitterness, but even she couldn't hide her amusement entirely. I shrugged sheepishly, and she ended up smiling at me while shaking her head.

"Da-da!" Eli squealed as Rose brought her over to me.

"I tried to keep her entertained, but she just wants you," Rose explained.

"Of course she wants me," I said at an annoyingly high pitch. "Hey, baby girl," I said to her with a kiss on her chubby cheek.

Rose went to join all the other crying and cheering girls, and I took Eli and went back to the guys.

"Wow man, how the hell are you going to top this next year?" Emmett asked me, in reference to the surprise pop star appearance.

I huffed. "Hopefully next year she'll like someone a little cooler," I said as I gave Eli a cracker.

"Yeah, like Angelina Jolie," Jasper said with a smirk.

"Definitely," Emmett agreed.

"Nah, you can save Angelina for your kid," I told Emmett.

"Really? Can you pull some strings?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh come on, there is no way someone like her would even be open to speaking to me. Get over it, it's not going to happen," I told him irritated.

The Biebs stayed for another hour, and then he left back to his insanely busy life. Carlie was absolutely over the moon.

"Thanks daddy," she said emotionally as she came to hug me. "You're the best."

"I know…just remember that when you start to date," I mumbled.

"Huh?" she asked as she pulled back and looked at me confused.

"What?" I played dumb. "Just go enjoy the rest of your party," I told her tenderly before kissing her forehead.

Eli had toddled off with Esme chasing after her, so I took that opportunity to go kiss my wife. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, and let my lips caress down her neck.

"I can't believe you did that," she said in an attempt to sound angry, but it only came out sounding amusingly impressed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you'd say 'no'. You really need to relax with the whole 'spoiling' thing," I joked. "It wasn't just for Carlie anyway. Did you see all those girls' faces? Carlie gets to be around celebrities whenever we go to New York and LA, but those girls will probably never get that opportunity again."

"So, you did it for the greater good?" she said with a laugh.

"Of course….You know, everyone is pretty distracted. I'm sure no one would even notice if we disappeared for a while."

I expected her to playfully smack me before walking away, but she did the exact opposite. She smiled, grabbed my hand, and then hurried us into the house and up to our room.

"Wow, Mrs. Masen. Did that teen dream boat get you all hot and bothered?" I teased.

"No, I like my pen-ups a little more…_manly_," she said as she pulled my shirt over my head before kissing my chest.

"It's the scars, isn't it?" I joked.

"No, it's just you," she said as she pushed my pants down. "_All _of you."

I never thought my life would turn out the way that it did, and it had nothing to do with my career. Something as simple as a joke about my scars, would have been impossible several years before. And even though it was no joking matter, I had definitely let go of my anger and resentment towards my father. There would never be forgiveness for him, but I didn't really need to. I was confident that my mother and sister were at peace, and I refused to give my father one more day of my life.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the therapy that gave me the last nudge into fully letting go, it was Pastor Swan. I took all of Bella's love, and the Cullen's support, along with the tools of therapy, and I continued to work every day at being better, but it was a conversation with Charlie that made me let go of my hatred for my father…

"Everything happens for a reason," he said to me one day, and before I could get pissed and yell at him for his comment, he continued. "Sometimes people come to this world with the purpose of bettering the lives of the people they touch. And when their goal is met, they are welcomed back to heaven for the rest of eternity….and then there's people who will forever rot in hell," he said unexpectedly.

"Uh…"

"You don't need to hate the man Edward, he's suffering enough right now as it is. Your anger towards him is pointless, 'cause all it does is make your life unfulfilled. Give your love and hatred for your passed family members to god, and live your life for you."

I wasn't a particularly religious guy, in fact, I had shied away from any kind of beliefs since the day my mother and sister were murdered, but for whatever reason, his words actually made me feel better. My anger was pointless, and if there was a higher power, I had to trust in him to take care of my departed family so I could focus on my family in front of me, because they were all that mattered.

"You know, I never told you this before," Charlie went on. "But I think it's awesome that you followed your dreams and became what you did."

"Uh, thanks Charlie," I said uncomfortably. I wasn't used to getting compliments from him, and it was awkward to say the least.

"I love my life path that I chose, but…..I would have made an excellent cop," he said seriously.

I just stared at him dumbfounded for a moment, and then I started laughing uncontrollably."I bet you would have," I said through my laughter.

Life wasn't perfect, and challenges would always arise, but as long as I kept my priorities intact and I had Bella by my side, I knew life was going to be as amazing as I wanted it to be. Like Charlie, my life path is in my hands, and I choose to live it the best way I possibly can.

The End

* * *

><p><strong>**** Wow, I've had enough cheese to last a life time! LOL. <strong>(No, I'm not a Justin fan, but I tried to think about what a 13yr old girl would want that only a celebrity dad could get, and that's what I came up with. *rolls eyes*)

**I really appreciate all your support, even when things got tough to read through, and I'm truly grateful that you have stuck with me till the end, so thank you very much! **

**Most of you already know, but I've started an ALTERNATE ENDING for this story which forks away before Edward leaves town as a teenager; so no cheesy rock star, and no ten years of missing his girls. It's called 'Unintended - A Loss of Faith', and you can find it on my profile along with a banner for that version as well. I still like this ending, but its fun to play the 'what if' game **

**Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you want to read a similar type of story as this one, check out my '**_**Moon Scars'**_**, but for something that is unique and probably different than anything else you've read before, try my '**_**Lies of the Soul'**_**. But I do have quite a few different stories, so take a look and see if anything catches your interest. **

**Peace out and happy reading. **


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